Leaving Things Behind Us
by Lady Cleo
Summary: While Aang and Toph are sent on one wild goose chase after another by Roku, Katara and Zuko find their relationship changing in ways they never expected.  Taang/Zutara.
1. Departures

**Leaving Things Behind Us**

**Forced down different paths, peace brings new definition to the lives of the Gaang as some grow apart and others grow closer. Taang/Zutara.**

**I'm assuming by the end of the series Aang and Toph are 13, Katara is 15, Sokka and Suki 16, and Zuko is 17. Defiantly Taang and Zutara, with some Sukka thrown in. Forgive any errors, I am great at picking apart other peoples work but terrible at my own.**

**Chapter One - Departures.**

"_**The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside us." G. K. Chesterton**_

* * *

The fire crickets were chirping their usual late night songs outside of Aang's bedroom. Yue was brightly lit and high in the night sky, while in the distance, some midnight revelers were setting off firecrackers.

Two months- Two months had passed since Zuko's coronation and the world was slowly settling down into peace. Aang brought his feet together, then his hands, and bowed his head trying to clear his mind. They had done much: helped Zuko weed through the ministers, rebuilt, calmed rioters, even replaced military commanders with more loyal subjects. The job, however, was far from over. Still, change was in the air- he could feel it creeping along his bones, threatening to unsettle everything he hoped for.

Aang felt the wind shift through the balcony doors, settling in the room. Taking another deep breath, he felt the soft contours of the bed beneath him, the silken feel of the sheets against his body-

"Give it up, Twinkle Toes."

Aang sighed and cracked open an eye to peer at the small earthbender. He had not heard the door opening, but there she stood, leaning casually against the doorframe with silk covered arms crossed over her chest. "I'm trying to meditate." He finally answered her.

Toph scoffed, "Your breathing is keeping me up." Aang chose to ignore her presence and comment, instead opting to take another deep breath and close his eyes, reaching towards the elusive inner calm he sought. The bed suddenly creaked under added weight. Aang launched forward, the covers yanked from underneath him as he went flying face forward into the sheets, his butt protruding into the air. Glancing over his side, he caught sight of the small earthbender curling into the ball, "Stop hogging the covers, Twinkles."

"Uh, Toph," Aang pulled himself upright and turned to the small ball of blankets. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like, Twinkle Toes?" The blankets muffled her voice, but he could still catch the sarcasm dripping off it. "My room stinks of fire and it's cold, I like yours much better. Besides, your sheets are nice and warm, and you're not planning on using them- so I will."

"Fine, as long as I can meditate." Aang turned his back to the lump of covers and slowly resumed his position. A deep breath filled the cavity of his lungs as silence settled over the room. The crickets and firecrackers faded into the distance. Another deep breath-

"What do you think is going to happen now?"

"Toph-" He tried hard to keep the exasperation from his voice, but had to admit a slight failure.

"What, you're not mediating- I can tell. You never breathe this much when you meditate." Silence followed her comment. The wind seemed to still outside. Aang started to take another breath- A small foot gently poked his side. "You didn't answer my question."

"Fine-" Aang broke his pose and addressed the foot that was peeking out of the covers. "I don't know, are you happy now? Can I please go back to trying to find some inner peace?"

The foot retreated under the covers. "Don't get your panties in a bunch Twinkles." The form moved beneath the covers. "I was just asking the question that's on everybody's mind. You guys are just too chicken to talk about it."

Aang sighed for what felt like the hundred time that night and let his body fall back against the bed, his hands coming up to support his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "Change is frightening. We've already been though so much and worked so hard to get here. No one wants to lose what we have, but change is coming- I can feel it in the wind."

"A bad change?"

"No- but change."

The bed shifted as Toph slowly pushed the covers off her head. "Huh, well- I guess that makes sense. You defeated the demon Fire Lord, now peace has to reside in place of war. And now everyone has to go."

The concept bothered Aang more then he wanted to admit it. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone has something. Suki will need to head home, as will Sokka and Katara. Zuko has to stay here and run his little domain. Iroh wants to return to his teashop. And you, you have the world to baby-sit. Everyone has something to go to, everyone but me."

Aang sent a quizzical look towards Toph, and then remembering she couldn't see it, he added, "Huh?"

"Hello, anybody home? I can't go back to my parents. I don't want to live in that cage again. You've shown me freedom, Twinkle Toes, how can I go back to the polar opposite?"

Aang felt like slapping his palm against his forehead, "I never thought of it like that. I just always assumed you'd be with us, that we'd be together."

"And she will, if Katara has anything to say about it." Sokka interrupted, dragging his slouching form into the room to slink into the nearest open chair. "Now that the future is settled can we have some quiet in here? I'm trying to sleep."

Toph merged herself back beneath the covers, "Huh, funny, I don't remember noise ever stopping you before."

"Especially when it's not even your room." Aang quipped up. "I didn't know the fire palace walls were so thin."

"Fine, fine-" Sokka made a face at the Avatar. "You caught me, I don't know what it is about tonight, but it's rendered us all insomniacs." Leaning back in his chair, Sokka pressed his fingertips together. "What we need is a plan- and it so happens that plans are my forte. In fact, I think I have one already in store. As soon as 'Sparky' gets his groove on and tames the great Fire Nation, the five of us hop on the flying bison and head south."

Suki snorted as she strolled casually into the room. "What makes you think I want to freeze my butt off," she questioned, leaning against Sokka's chair.

"What- you have to come."

"Says who?"

Toph let out an angry growl as she bounced upright- covers haphazardly thrown away, consequently burying Aang. "What is this, a party? I was in here first, so the rest of you can just come back another night."

Katara made a disgruntled noise from the doorway, "Seeing as how Sokka and I were the ones that discovered Aang in that icicle, I'd say that technically we'd have first rights to the Avatar on any given day. What with being his rescuer and all-"

"Says you, Sugar Queen."

Aang kicked the covers back over Toph and sat up, "What am I, a toy to pass around."

"Yeah, just about the coolest toy we've ever had." Sokka quipped with a roll of his eyes.

"No, Aang, your not." No one missed the glare Katara shot off at her elder brother. "And I only came in here to break up this party. You're making a lot of noise and I'm sure Zuko needs all the sleep he can get. It can't be easy running a Fire Nation."

"I personally find it exhilarating," the man in question declared as he came to a stop beside the shocked waterbender.

"Ughh-" Toph growled, "All you people drive me crazy. Twinkle Toes and I were having a private conversation."

"Ohhh- private conversations," Sokka winked in Aang's direction, invoking a small punch from Suki and an eye roll from Katara.

Zuko glanced around the room, "What are you five gossiping about in the dead of the night?" He questioned, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms across his chest.

Sokka shrugged, "Oh, the future, the south pole, freezing bottoms off, how tired you are, you know- the general stuff."

"That's it-" Aang interrupted leaping to his feet and ignoring the startled cry as he accidentally stepped on Toph. "No more small talk, no more debating the future. I was trying to meditate when everyone decided they just 'needed' to spend some quality time with me. Everybody out- now!"

"Alright, alright, cool your jets. We'll leave you to your 'private conversations' with the cranky earthbender." Pushing up, Sokka dragged his limbs out of the chair and across the room, Suki following a step behind. Zuko nodded goodnight and turned to follow, exchanging a brief glance with Katara before briskly walking out of the room.

"Goodnight, Aang." The waterbender pulled the doors closed behind her and silence once again settled over the room. The Avatar dropped back down to the bed and reformed his mediation stance. He took a deep breath- and felt the bed shift again, by no movement of his own. "Well-"

"What?" Toph questioned, struggling to get comfortable again.

"Out- I need to meditate."

"Look Twinkles, I told you already; my room is stinky and I won't bother you. So go ahead- get your meditation on."

Life and war had taught Aang many things, and one of those things happened to be that there is nothing is more stubborn than a tired earthbender. Realizing he was possibly fighting a pointless battle and only wasting time, Aang resumed his stance and took a deep breath. The room was still, the air cool and crisp. Toph's breathing slowed and evened out, signifying either that the earthbender had fallen asleep, or that she was honoring her word and keeping quiet. Aang felt his body relaxing as he focused in, taking comfort in Toph's presence, his mind clearing as the world melted away from him. And just as suddenly, he found himself floating in the clouds, "Success."

"Hello, Aang."

"Avatar Roku." Aang sat up a little straighter as his former life appeared before him. Pressing his hands together, the airbender bowed to his honored past life. "What a surprise to see you, I thought-" Aang left the last part of his sentence unfinished as he pushed himself up to meet the spirit.

Roku returned the bow before speaking, "You did well in the final battle, my friend, and I congratulate you on your success. But, I fear I have some ill tidings to bring."

"Is there a new threat to the balance?"

Roku inclined his head slightly, "There will always be a threat to the balance, Aang." He explained. Turning away the elder avatar strolled along the clouds, Aang following at his side. "It is part of the reason we exist, to ensure that the ever threatened peace and balance remain. Now, after so many years of war, we must be on guard. Many will seek to restore unbalance for their own purposes."

"What must I do then?"

Roku pressed his fingertips together and turned to face the younger avatar. "You must complete your training."

To say Aang felt shocked could not cover the emotions that suddenly spring to life within his spirit. "But, I thought- I don't understand. I have mastered all forms of bending and I can control the avatar state now."

Roku shook his head, "You have not mastered all the finer elements of bending, nor do you have 'complete' control over your Avatar state. If Ozai had not opened your last chakra, we might not be having this conversation. Besides, those are but two of the stages in the many steps to becoming an Avatar." It would have been hard to miss the crestfallen expression on Aang's face, but Roku passed it off and continued. "If fate had not interceded, you would have taken these steps as you mastered the elements. Instead we spirits fill the need to guide you through the remaining steps in a spiritual journey."

It took a second for Aang to come to grips with the information and a battle of wills played across his face. "How long will this take?"

"It depends, you learned your elements exceedingly well over the last year, our tasks may only take a few months, or they could take a lifetime." Roku glanced down at the younger man, "I have faith in you, my friend. You can accomplish what is needed in the time that you desire to."

"But my friends-"

Roku lifted a hand, silencing his younger protégée. "-Will remain your friends. But your paths may not always intercede." With a wave of his hand several colored strings appeared before Roku, some entwining, some separating only to entwine again later. The strings vanished just as quickly as they had appeared. "As you were once joined, you will now be separated. But fear not, for a true friend is never truly parted." Roku turned away from the crestfallen avatar and continued, "You must learn to understand and shoulder the burden of your responsibility. It is a journey you have already started, but you must complete it in order to find balance with both that burden and your own needs." Turning back the elder spirit watched his younger compatriot. "You will not need your friends on this journey."

For a second Aang contemplated the meaning of Roku's words. He had already trained so hard and for what felt like so long. The prospect of spending time with his friends was foremost in his mind; a time when he could just kick back and experience the joys and hardship of growing up with the people he cared about. But that all seemed to be rapidly vanishing before him, "But my friends have-"

Roku shook his head, silencing Aang. "I can not guide you, if you do not wish it. Make your choice and if you choose to take your burden then I will await you on Whale Tale Island. There is a small secluded spirit oasis along the northern coast where you may enter the spirit world." Roku turned away from Aang, his form slowly vanishing as he spoke his last few words, "If you do not choose to take this task, I can do naught but wish you luck."

A foot knocked into Aang's side, and he suddenly found himself back in the cool air of the bedroom. Toph's light snores broke the air, her small foot pressed firmly to his side. Aang let his face fall into his hands as Roku's words played through his mind. Once again, he found himself wishing for a simpler life, wishing he could go back to being just the air bender, not the avatar. Nevertheless, this time he would not run away, he couldn't leave the world to its own care again. The foot in his side shifted again, drawing Aang's eyes back to the smaller earthbender at his side- but how in the stars was he going to tell the rest of them?

* * *

"Alright," Sokka burst into the private breakfast room waving around a small scroll. "Mail call's here."

Zuko glanced up from the head of the table as he stabbed his fork into a piece of fruit. "Oh joy." To his right Katara sat up a little straighter. On his left however, Aang only seemed to sink lower into his chair.

Noting her friends sinking position, Toph tried to ram an elbow into his arm, hitting his shoulder instead, "Hey, Twinkles, you trying to crawl under the table or something."

"Huh, uh- no." Pulling himself upright Aang ignored the questioning glance from Katara. "I- I just didn't sleep very well last night." Picking up his fork, he started shoving the food on his plate around. "Must have been the snoring."

"Yeah, yeah, whine about it to Sparky here so I can get a non-stinky room."

"I bet it's from dad." Sokka interrupted. Squeezing in-between Katara and Suki, he reached eagerly for his fork and dropped the letter. "Ah, glorious meat, how I've enjoyed our time together. You brighten my mornings, and give sweet, sweet joy to my afternoons. Oh, that we are never parted again-"

"Well," Zuko interrupted, Sokka glanced up from shoveling food onto his plate with a puzzled expression. "The letter, why don't you read it?"

"Huh," Sokka's eyebrows hiked up as he continued shoveling food onto his plate. "Its meat time, letters can wait." He barely avoided the whack Katara sent his way and continued shoveling food into his mouth.

"Let me then." The waterbender picked up the scroll and carefully unraveled it. "It is from dad; he says all is well in the tribe, Gran-Gran sends her love, but he wants us to return home. There's a ship waiting in the harbor to bring us back." The already quiet table went still as all eyes shifted over to Katara.

"Ship, what do we need a ship for?" Sokka questioned, pointedly ignoring the tension. "Appa can get us there in half the time. We can pack up; the five of us hop on the flying bison, and be home in a matter of days. "

"Uh, five of us?" Suki interrupted. "What part of 'I don't want to freeze my butt off' did you not hear last night?"

The meat on Sokka's plate was suddenly abandoned. "What, no, you can't not come."

"Sokka, I need to return home," the Kyoshi warrior explained, "I have to help take care of my people, I can't just abandon them. I'll be glad to come and visit, but there are things I need to take care of first."

"Alright, fine- I understand. But, I'm not happy about this." Grudgingly Sokka's attention returned to the meat, but not without a healthy amount of muttering.

"Alright then, after we finish breakfast we should pack. I'm sure that we can arrange to drop Suki off on Kyoshi Island, right Aang?" Katara questioned, her gaze returning to the Avatar sitting across from her. Aang shifted uncomfortable, unsure of how to proceed, Toph elbowed him in the shoulder again as Katara questioned, "Aang, are you alright?"

"Actually, you should probably take the boat. I don't think I can take you."

"What?" Sokka demanded, "Not you too."

Katara reached across the table to place a comforting hand on the airbender's before speaking, "Aang, what's going on?"

The Avatar shifted nervously, "Last night Avatar Roku visited me."

"That means trouble." Toph interrupted, adding a sad shake of her head for emphasis and invoking a glare from Zuko and a warning sound from Katara. "What, it's the truth; whenever that guy shows up you guys learn something tragic. Who told you about Sozin's comet, huh?"

"Go ahead Aang, what did Roku tell you." Katara encouraged.

"My training is not complete." A chorus of 'whats' and 'that's crazy' followed his statement. "I have not learned all the finer points of being the Avatar. Roku says I must learn to shoulder my responsibility and to balance myself; only then will I be fully prepared to act as Avatar." Silence dropped on the table for the third time, it was getting to be a habit with them lately.

"Well, that's settled then." Katara declared with a confident nod of her head. "We'll just go with you. After all, it's important that you're prepared to face the challenges of being the Avatar. And who better to help you train then your former teachers?"

Aang frowned, shaking his head, "No Katara, you should be with your family."

"But, Aang, you are family."

"I have no idea how long this will take, or even where I'll be going, whether I'll be training in the Spirit World or in the Physical World. I just know I need to do this, I need to finish my training, I need to be a complete Avatar or everything we worked so hard to accomplish will be for nothing."

Katara slammed her fork down on the table, "This is ridiculous, you've already faced more than enough challenges and done so much. If I could give Roku a piece of my mind-"

"He would convince you that this is needed." Sokka interrupted with a wave of his fork. "You can't say we didn't all expect this to happen. Aang needs to train and we need to go home to Dad."

Katara sat up straighter, pressing her fingertips to her forehead as she tried to straighten out her thoughts. "This is all happening to quickly. Five minutes ago, we were just sitting here having breakfast, and now suddenly everyone is going their separate ways. Zuko might-"

"I'll be fine." The Fire Lord glanced up from his plate to meet the waterbenders eyes. "Sokka is right; I think we all knew this would happen sooner or later. The world needs its Avatar, your father needs you, and I must remain here to govern my people. It would be selfish and dishonorable to deny those in need- not when we've worked so hard to bring peace."

"Fine, it's settled then." Sokka turned back to Suki, "We could drop you somewhere if you like."

A brief smile crossed Suki's face, her hand grasping his tightly. "That would be great, Sokka."

Pushing back in his chair, Sokka glanced down the table, "Toph, at least your coming with us, right."

"Um, I guess." The earthbender answered as she reluctantly abandoned her plate. The entire table seemed to have lost all appetite, as food was shoved aside and forks neglected.

"Great, don't sound so enthusiastic about it." Sokka stood up, "We'll need to pack, and probably quickly. I don't think the boat is going to wait long, and without a flying bison the sooner we leave, the better." Suki rose to follow him out.

The four remaining occupants sat avoiding each other's gaze. "Why," Katara began, only to pause. "Why does this feel like the end?"

"It's not the end," Aang assured her, "It's only the beginning of something else."

"Sure feels like the end of an era." Toph whispered, kicking the ground roughly with her foot.

"But it's not. Gyatso always said-"

"It is, Aang." Katara interrupted. "And claiming that it's not, would just be deceiving yourself. It is the end of an era." She bowed her head for a second, afraid to meet the gold or gray eyes. "But, I refuse to accept that the end of one era and the beginning of another will mean an end to family or friends. Just because we separated does not mean we're no longer family. Sokka is right, we must accept this." Pushing back from the table, the waterbender moved swiftly and determinedly away.

Zuko stood up abruptly, "Excuse me." Inclining his head to the two remaining occupants, the Fire Lord swept out of the room and followed Katara's footsteps.

"So, I guess this means what you said last night is out."

Aang glanced up, his head wiping around to stare at the girl still sitting next to him. "Huh- oh, yeah, I guess-" He watched her for a brief second, noting the fine porcelain features and the way her bangs seemed to conceal so much of her face. The story was so different for her, no quest awaited; no one needed her to come home. No one, except, maybe-

"Spit it out, Twinkle Toes, I can tell you want to say something, so just say it already."

Aang shrugged and turned his eyes away from the blind girl. "I guess I was just thinking that it wouldn't hurt if you came along- I mean if you came along with me."

Her forehead wrinkled, hands dropping to grip the seat, "But, you just said- you just told Katara-"

"I know, but her family needs her." What was he doing, Roku would kill him if her brought along someone else. Okay, maybe not kill, but the Avatar's Spirit would defiantly not throw her a welcoming party. "Are you just going to go back to Gaoling and to your parents? I mean- on the other hand, you could go live a blind life in the South Pole. I don't know, just neither of the options really seems like options." Great, his mouth was decidedly carrying him along an unknown path that could result in his spiritual homicide.

"Oh, I get it." Toph nodded her head in understanding. "Thanks, Twinkle Toes, but I don't need your pity."

"Good, because I'm not offering it."

"Will you stop talking gibberish?"

"I'm not; I never said this would be a vacation. Who knows how long I'll be in the Spirit World, you could find yourself starving or stranded on a beach somewhere. Nevertheless, I'm going to need someone to watch after Appa and Momo, and I'm going to need someone to pound me in the head when I start running away." Toph crossed her arms over her chest, the expression on her face doubtful. "I guess if you don't want to I can-"

Toph launched herself at him, small warm arms suddenly encompassing his slight form in a boulder-crushing hug. "Thanks, Twinkle Toes." Pulling back just as quickly, she punched him roughly in the

* * *

shoulder. "No one saw that- it never happened."

"May I come in?"

Katara glanced up at the sound of Zuko's voice to find the Fire Lord standing quietly in her doorway. "Of course you can."

Zuko nodded his thanks and stepped into the room, his hands clasped behind his back as he observed her slowly packing her belongings into a familiar blue duffel. "I'm sorry to see you go, the time you have spent here has been very enjoyable. I had hoped-" He paused as though unsure of himself, though his expression failed to give away any turbulent emotions. "I still can not thank you enough for what you've done for me and my people."

Katara smiled gently, folding up a tunic, she stuffed it in the bag and turned to face the Fire Lord, "No thanks need, we did what was right. It's not as if you were no help in the final battle. What you did was not easy, we all know that and appreciate it."

"Still, I've enjoyed the time we spent together. I've never truly had any friends, you've shown me what it is to love and be comforted. For that I will be eternally grateful." Zuko fidgeted slightly with his hands, turning his gaze away from her as he stiffened. "I will miss-"

Katara threw her arms around him, pressing her face against his chest she clung tightly to her friend, "Gran-Gran always says there's no such thing as a true goodbye with the people that matter, only a 'see you later.'" His arms slipped around her waist to rest lightly on her back. "Promise you'll write. I know you'll be busy-"

"I promise, on my honor, to write."

"Good, I know you won't break that promise." A smile cracked Zuko's face as Katara laughed gently and pulled back, wiping a tear from her check, "It's funny, only a few months ago we were the worst of enemies, now the best of friends."

"Uncle Iroh would say fate works in mysterious ways."

"I think Gran-Gran would agree with him."

* * *

"Hey Toph, where's your stuff?" Sokka questioned, hauling his and Suki's duffels up the plank of the boat he tossed it to the nearest sailor. The docks were bustling with merchants and ships as the Fire Nation slowly repaired it's trading industry. Suki and Toph stood at the bottom of the gangplank, Aang hovering just a few paces away. "Boats going to be departing soon, don't tell me your going al la neutral."

"No, I'm not going."

"What?" the Warrior demanded as he quickly shuffled back down the walkway to join them. "Is this some kind of practical joke or is it just 'abandon Sokka' week and nobody told me."

The Blind Bandit shrugged, "Yeah, as if I'd really have a blast in the artic freezing my butt off and being totally blind." Crossing her arms across her chest, she continued. "Aang invited me to baby-sit Appa and Momo while he's off hunting spirits or something."

"Good," Katara called as both she and Zuko walked into view. Zuko nodded in agreement with her statement and tossed Katara's duffel to Sokka. "At least now you'll have someone to watch your back while you're tramping through the Spirit Lands." She ignored the slight pang of jealously in her heart and reached out to pull Aang into a tight hug. "I've already got Zuko's promise to write, do I get one from you too?"

"Really, Katara," Sokka piped up as he sauntered back up the ship's ramp to toss the duffel, "how often do you think he's going to be able to write while doing mysterious things in the Spirit World. Probably just as often as you wrote Gran-Gran while trying to save the world." He ignored the glare and clambered back down, tossing an arm around Suki's shoulder.

"I'll do my best," Aang promised, "You'd probably better send any letters to Omashu, Bumi will hold on to them until I can pick them up."

"Yeah, and the crazy bat will probably read and publish them all too." Toph added, "So be carefully what you say Katara, don't go confessing anything unless you want the world to know." The comment sent a blush to both Aang's and Katara's cheeks- but invoked a slight frown Zuko, one that he quickly wiped off.

Pulling away from the younger boy, Katara turned to wrap the smaller earthbender in an equally strong hug. "Take care of yourself and promise me that you'll come to the South Pole as soon as you're finished."

Toph scoffed, but returned the hug, "Don't worry, Katara. We'll be fine. And where else would we have to go once the monk here finishes. You guys are family now."

"Well," Sokka declared, breaking the moment. "It's been fun, Zuko. I enjoyed the power, really enjoyed the power, not so much the sweating and rebuilding, but the power was fun." Zuko raised an eyebrow impassively at the younger boy, before sharing a brief glance with Katara. "Alright, alright- enough with the hugs. Tides going to turn and we'll get left behind."

"Make sure to write, and take care of yourselves." Katara pulled Zuko, Toph and Aang back into one more hug before following her brother and Suki up the ramp.

The ship lurched beneath the three, pulling slowly away from the docks as the steam from the engines billowed overhead. Suki smiled warmly and turned away from both the brother and the sister, "I'm going to go see about our things."

Silence settled over the pair as the docks began to shrink. Sokka leaned forward over the railing, addressing his sister, "You seem fine with this."

"Yeah, I mean, Aang's already been through so much, what else could he have to learn?" Katara questioned. "I think we'll being seeing them again really soon, maybe in only three months."

"Huh, funny, because I get the feeling we won't be seeing them for a long time." Sokka turned away, leaving the waterbender alone on the deck. The tide churned below, pulling the ship rapidly away from the three figures still standing alone on the docks.


	2. Task One

**Leaving Things Behind Us by Lady Cleo**

**Chapter Two - Task One.**

**The Time:** Several days after Aang's departure.

**The Place:** Whale Tail Island/Spirit World.

* * *

"Sixty tasks!" The Spirit World reverberated with Aang's shocked cry, the sound of his voice carrying clear across the vast realm and disturbing even Kyoshi as she sat down to tea with a giant panda spirit.

Roku nodded calmly, "There are sixty tasks that must be completed. Some of which may only take you a few days, others which will require weeks or perhaps even months to fully complete." The two avatars sat quietly underneath a great cherry blossom tree. Around them the fields of the Spirit World stretched, the soft waves of grass blowing gently in the wind. While Roku appeared the very essence of control, it was hard not to miss the deflated visage that Aang offered. "Every Avatar mastered sixty tasks and benefited from the knowledge they were granted."

Aang seemed to muster some courage and pulled himself up, "Well, if I've done them already, surely I can do them again easily."

"Hmm, yes," Roku raised an eyebrow, "Before I explain further we should discuss the young companion you've decided to bring along."

Aang slumped back over, his mind racing for a legitimate reason- anything- to justify Toph's presence. Unfortunately, his brain was not being of much assistance. "She had no other suitable options and I-"

"It is no matter."

Aang's jaw dropped, head whipping up to stare at the older spirit. "What?"

Roku smiled slightly at his younger compatriot, "I foresaw this occasion, though I had hoped to be mistaken. Still, the Spirits should not be tempted. If they guided you to bring along the earthbender, then she must remain."

"Oh- yeah, the spirits- sure." The nervous grin resurfaced on Aang's face.

"Earth is the natural opposite to air." Roku continued, "Earth is substance, a neutral force that involves waiting and listening for the right moment to strike. Air is the element of freedom, a defensive force it is about finding and following the path of least resistance. Earth is firmly rooted to the ground, while Air is constantly moving, but in that you can achieve balance. Earth grounds air, providing it with base on which to act, while Air craves and nurtures Earth, giving it guidance."

"If your friend can balance out your existence she will be of great help- but if she is too overwhelming a force of Earth, then-" Roku left the end of his sentence hang silently in the air. "We shall see what the earthbender provides for your journey."

The matter seemed settled for a moment. "Now, on to the first task." With a wave of his hand, a chalkboard appeared beside Roku. "The Basic history of the Avatar-"

* * *

"Really, Yui, I think we're lost." Flipping his map over, the young adventurer turned to look for his hiking partner. "This looks nothing like the map. I think we must have taken a wrong turn." When no one answered him, the lost traveler glanced around again, "Uh- Yui, where are you?"

"Here, come quick, you'll never believe what I found."

Following the sound of his friend's voice, the young traveler stumbled through a range of bush and tripped into an open campsite. There before the pair lay a sparkling oasis filled with lush plants and the tallest trees the travelers had ever seen. At the center of this oasis, posed next to a dying campfire, sat the most amazing thing either of them had seen- a boy, to be exact it was a boy with an arrow tattoo, a boy with glowing eyes and a vacant expression. A boy anyone would be able to recognize.

"Yui- that's the-"

"Avatar, I know Shen." Both men stood gaping for a long second. "Do you think we could- maybe just get a piece of his hair."

"He has no hair, Yui. But maybe a little bit of his clothing, just so everyone back home will-" The two men both took a tentative step towards the glowing boy. A massive wall of earth shot up. "What- what happened?" Scrambling backwards the two men swung around.

"Oh my, is that a flying bison?" Appa groaned, rolled over and promptly went back to sleep.

"And a- a lemur." Momo scratched behind his ear and launched into the air in search of food.

"And-"

"The greatest earthbender ever." Toph kicked up her feet and snacked on the nuts beside her. She'd been enjoying a rather peaceful afternoon when the two idiots had wandered into her senses. And nothing interrupts a good day as much as two fumbling idiots lost the woods.

Shen scratched at his head in confusion, "Well, I was just going to say a blind girl, but greatest earthbender works."

"Who are you?" Yui questioned cautiously. He wasn't about to piss off someone claiming to be the greatest earthbender alive, especially not when she was in close proximity to the Avatar.

"I told you." Toph rolled her eyes. "Greatest-earthbender-ever." Shen glanced over at Yui, Yui shrugged and they both looked back at the small blind girl.

"Uh, pardon me, Miss Greatest Earthbender Ever, but what's he doing here?" Yui motioned to the massive wall of earth still blocking the two fools from Aang's empty form.

"Sabbatical in the spirit land." Toph tossed another nut into her mouth. Momo landed gracefully in her lap and curled into a small ball for a nap.

"And you, Miss?"

"What's it look like, I'm baby-sitting."

"The Avatar?"

"No, Twinkle Toes can take care of himself." Toph motioned towards the snoring form of Appa. "That's what I'm baby-sitting." Appa growled lightly in his sleep and Momo chattered in her lap. "Though I think this calls for a raise if I'm keeping idiots at bay too." Shoving Momo gently off her lap, Toph stood and braced herself into defensive stance. "Alright. Now do you two souvenir hunters beat it, or do I beat you?"

"Really, all we wanted was something-" The earth shot up beneath them, launching the two travelers into the distance.

Toph collapsed back into a heap on the ground, the wall around Aang dissipating back into the earth as Momo resumed his nap position. "Well, gee, Twinkle Toes, you missed all the fun." She addressed the vacant form of the avatar. Placing a hand firmly against the ground, she sent a small tremor towards the quiet boy. His breathing was steady and even, small almost non-existent vibrations shooting off his body, as though he were humming with energy. Still, the conversation was severely lacking.

Toph sighed, shooed Momo and rolled onto her stomach. "When you said this would be no vacation, I didn't realize you meant it 'would' be a vacation." The earth in front of Toph shifted, rising as she rapidly began to build a miniature version on the nearby mountain range. "A week's vacation in paradise ain't what it's made out to be, Twinkles." A swift movement sent the miniature mountain range into crumbles.

Still no answer, as expected. "Uhh, wake up already, Twinkle Toes. I'm dying of boredom here." Again no answer, no movement, just the continued steady breathing. "I know I know," she sighed, "It's what's need and all that stupid selfless stuff." Toph sat up, folding herself into a lotus position that mirrored Aang; she dropped her voice in her best impression of the airbender. "Through the strength of mediation and the guidance of Roku, I'll be prepared for anything."

"Do I really sound like that?" Aang questioned, voice cracking from dis-use.

"Twinkle Toes," In a move that would have impressed any acrobat, Toph launched herself across the camp, crushing Aang in all encompassing hug as limbs and body parts flailed to the ground.

"Good to see you too." Aang squeezed the earthbender back, before attempting to untangle his limbs from hers. The mediation stance had left him sore in just about every muscle possible, not to mention the dire hunger pangs shooting through his stomach. "How long was I out?"

Toph shrugged, "A week." Standing up she helped pull the Avatar to his feet.

"What, a week?" Aang shook his head, gingerly testing his weight on awkward limbs before he began to stretching out his sore limbs. "It felt like a year. I'm starving-" Moving awkwardly around the fire, he grabbed at the bag of supplies and pulled out a large piece of fruit, chomping eagerly into it. "So, what'd you do for the past week?"

"Worked on my tan." Toph smirked, Aang laughed, choking on his food and swatting at his chest to get at some lodged piece of fruit. "What about you Twinkle Toes? Learn any sweet moves?"

"Gah!" The avatar dropped down to his bottom, stretching his sore legs in front of him as he grabbed another piece of fruit. Momo leapt onto the Avatar's shoulder, chatting happily. "I just sat through what felt like a year long lecture on the history and purpose of the Avatars."

"Ouch! Dry?"

"Roku may be a great Avatar, but he really shouldn't be allowed to lecture." Aang stretched out his arms and scratched at Momo's ear. "It was all just Avatar this, and Avatar that, towards the end I had trouble keeping awake. Thank the spirits I passed the test, or else I'm sure I'd still be sitting there listening to Roku go on and on."

"He gave you a test?"

"Three hundred questions and an essay on the purpose of the avatar," Aang shuddered at the memory.

"What a cruel, cruel man."

Aang nodded in agreement with Toph's statement as he leapt lightly to his feet. Moving away from the fire, he rubbed gently at Appa's head, waking the bison and receiving a tongue bath. "We've got to get moving. I want to swing by any nearby town and restock our supplies. There won't be much food or forage where we're going next."

"Next?" Toph questioned as Aang lifted Appa's saddle off the ground and leapt up to fix the reins. "Don't get me wrong, I'm good on this place for the next year or so, but where's next? And please don't tell me it's another week with you tramping through the Spirit Lands."

"Roku says my second task is to find a Giant Dragon Lizard somewhere on the northern half of the Fire Nation."

"Sweet, something exciting." With a stamp of her foot, Toph buried the fire and started gathering the rest of their supplies. "So, second task? How many did your taskmaster say you would have?"

"Uh- sixty."

Shaking her head, Toph dropped the supplies next to Appa. "What did I tell you before? That man just reeks of bad news."

Aang shrugged as he leapt down to grab the packs. "I didn't think this would be a walk in the park, but Avatar Roku seems adamant on its importance. All I can do is complete the tasks as fast as I can." Grabbing the pack, he leapt back up and secured it with the others. Toph climbed up after him, settling in her usual place on the side of the saddle. "It's only been a week, so there's no point swinging by Omushu, we can make time for letters later." Aang slid into his place on Appa's neck and grabbed the reins, "Yip-Yip."

"Something tells me we aren't going to be seeing Sugar Queen for a while."

Sugar Queen! Aang frowned as Appa launched gracefully on the air. He honestly had not given much thought to Katara since taking off on this new adventure, and that thought bothered him. Roku hadn't exactly given him much time to daydream, not with all his slapping of the chalkboard and wildly loud gestures. Still, shouldn't she have snuck into his thoughts at least once?

"Spit it out, Twinkle Toes. I know you want to say something." Toph shouted over the gentle hum of wind. Aang wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say, so how could he answer. "Look, I'm sure Katara understands that you need to do this. So okay, letters will be kind of late and sparse, but you're the Avatar. If she doesn't understand that, then she's going to have a tough time being your girlfriend."

"It isn't that," Aang shouted back over his shoulder, "and she's not my girlfriend."

"What?" Toph questioned, genuinely stunned. "Help me here, Twinkle Toes." Toph reached a hand out towards him, indicating that she wanted to join him on Appa's head. Aang sighed, dropped the reins for a second and reached back, taking her slightly smaller hand in his, he gently guided her over the saddle and down onto the bison's head. Toph took a second to settle herself as Aang grabbed the reins again. "Alright, spill. Sokka said he saw you too kissing, which means that something is happening between you and hot lips momma."

He hesitated, unsure of what to say, or how to say it. "We kissed and then-"

"Then-" Toph prompted, arms crossing over her chest as she glared in his direction.

"Well, nothing." Frustration lined his voice. After all, it was hard enough being a teenager assigned the role of babysitting the world, but throw in the drama of a regular teenager and he felt like the world was going to end. "It was almost like nothing happened; she just went back to how things were before."

"Humph, savior of the world smacks you one and you'd think the girl would reciprocate."

Aang leapt in his place, frantically waving his arms, "No, no, it's not like that, I just wanted to know if she felt the same about me." Settling back down, he let his shoulders slump and briefly wondered why he was discussing this with Toph. "I didn't expect a confession, just some kind of sign that she liked me back."

Toph leaned back against the bison, "Maybe you didn't make it clear, Twinkle Toes. You should have used your lips in another way besides just planting one on her."

"That's what Zuko said."

"Wait," Toph sat up, "You discussed this with Sparky?"

"Uh, yeah."

Her eye roll was dramatic and emphasized with a gaping mouth. "And what exactly made you think that Mr. Emotionally Closed Hot Pants would be able to help in this situation?"

"Uh, no offense Toph, but I don't see how you have much experience in this ring either." That earned him a hard punch in the shoulder.

"Please, Twinkle Toes, I may not look like I have a lot of experience, but this rock head is full of great advice." He responded with laughter and earned himself another punch. "Alright, maybe I don't have that much experience with these things, but I like to think I'm a little better off than Sparky." She waited for him to regain control of his amusement before continuing. "What did you tell Sparky and what great odes of wisdom did he give?"

Aang scratched at his arrow and furrowed his brow in deep concentration, "I told him what I told you: she hasn't been avoiding me, but she hasn't exactly sought me out. She seemed to return the kiss, but didn't seem inclined for another. Whenever I tired to broach a conversation about it, we seemed to be conveniently interrupted." Aang rubbed his palm against his forehead, Toph nodded for him to continue, "And Zuko said maybe she was a little anxious about our ages, but then I pointed out that I may be mentally one age, but really I'm a hundred plus."

"And."

Aang heaved another sigh, "Well, then he suggested that I just give her a little time, that maybe she was confused about the relationship and needed to think things through."

"Sound advice- for an emotional basket case." Toph nodded her approval. "Let me guess what happened next, you got called off on some ridiculous wild goose chase and told her to go home like the selfless little monk you are."

Aang glanced cautiously over at Toph, "Was that wrong?"

"Yes and no." Toph turned her head in his direction, "The way I see it, space is good. Who needs all that romantic rubbish anyway? This gives the girl time to realize what she wants and how much she does or doesn't miss you." Aang seemed pleased with her answer. "On the other hand, it gives her time to meet an attractive older gentleman with the maturity that your little air brain lacks, marry him and have lots of little babies." Aang deflated, panic flashing into his eyes. "I'm kidding Twinkle Toes." She knocked her fist into his shoulder again. "So don't go all Avatar on me."

"But what if-"

"Hey," Toph interrupted his panicked slur of words, "If there is one thing you oversentimental bunch of do-gooders taught me, it's that everything will be alright in the end as long as you work your damn hardest at it. I'm guessing that applies to your silly romantics notions too. You can't make her love you, Twinkle, but you can work through whatever happens and still end up standing on your feet."

"Uh, thanks, I think." For some reason Aang did feel comforted by her words, though they didn't exactly solve his dilemma. But she was right; he could work through anything that came forward. And whither it hurt like hell, or was deliriously wonderful, only time would tell.

"Hey look, there's a town up ahead." Toph cried out, her finger pointing towards the forest covered horizon.

"What, where?" Aang perked up at the thought of fresh food.

The fist smacked him hard in the shoulder blade as Toph waved a hand in front of her face, "Gotchya- that never gets old." She snickered, settling back into her place. "Now that I smacked you out of your daydream, let's find a town- I'm starving."

* * *

Author's Note: From this point on we are going to be getting into many bigger time jumps as I work to show the subtle growth of relationships and to cover a three-year span.


	3. When Change Comes

**Leaving Things Behind Us by Lady Cleo**

**Chapter Three - When Change Comes.**

**The Time:** Four months since Aang's departure.

**The Place: **Southern Water Tribe.

* * *

"Sokka," There was nothing quite like the sight of an angry, frustrated waterbender, nor anything quite like the shout of said angry waterbender. "Sokka, get these city plans off the table before I toss them to the Seal-Penguins." Wheeling on her heels, Katara stormed back into the kitchen.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." The water tribe warrior growled, sulking as he entered the room and began rolling up his city plans. "No appreciation for a genius at work." The small and cozy dining room was sparsely decorated with spears and furs, the room serving a duel purpose for both family dining and, more often than not, as Tribal Council Hall. That was at least until Sokka could convince the Council of conducting a massive overhaul to form what he called the mecca of the Southern Water Tribe and build a proper Tribal Hall. But, alas, plans would have to wait. Scooping up his ideas, Sokka stuffed them into a bag and slung it into the corner of the room with a pile of miscellaneous junk.

"Somebody ought to tell her she's being un-reasonable." Gran-Gran muttered, entering from the kitchen with a platter of fish.

Sokka slipped into a seat as the elder woman set the platter down. "What, tell that raging monster she's being unreasonable? Yeah, go ahead Gran-Gran, it was nice knowing you." The old lady clucked at her grandson in a disapproving manner. "What, it's the truth. She's been torture to live with ever since dad denied her request to head north. Beats me why Chief Arnook would want her assistance anyway."

"Your sister is growing into a fine woman; Arnook would do well to employ her. Moreover, your father would do well to let her go. After everything she's done there's very little to keep her here besides family." Gran-Gran tasked, her head shaking as she glanced back over to the ominous kitchen doorway before turning back to her grandson again, "Any word from the Avatar?"

"The boy's on a spirit quest. Why do all you people assume that spirit quests are like some kind of vacation where you can just send off a letter whenever you feel like it?"

Gran-Gran scowled, "I know that, but I thought she and the Avatar-" She let the end of her sentence hang in the air, watching her grandson carefully for any sign of confirmation or denial.

Sokka feigned ignorance, "Like I really want to know who my sister snogs."

"Still," Gran turned to glance back over at the doorway, "I think word would have come by now." Sokka rolled his eyes and picked at the platter of fish. The older woman moved to the head of the table and began passing out the plates stacked there. "I can understand why your father doesn't want her heading north. We've been separated for so long, it seems wrong to part again so soon." A crash of pots interrupted the woman's words, followed by a short burst of curses coming from the direction of the kitchen. "Then again, I don't know how much more I can take of her. Spirits know I love my grandchildren, but only when they're being reasonable."

"Who's being unreasonable?" Hakoda questioned, stepping into the room he scanned over its occupants and then towards the kitchen. "Katara?" Gran-Gran nodded as she watched her son strip off his heavy gloves and drop them on the table. Hakoda squinted up from his gloves as another burst of curses floated in from the kitchen. "She in there?"

"Yes, but watch where you step if you plan on going in," Gran warned. "As much as she's being unreasonable she bares no ill will towards us. You, my son, are the target of her anger."

Hakoda made no move towards the kitchen, instead choosing to take a seat at the head of the table. Reaching into the fur lined pocket of his jacket he pulled out three letters. "These just arrived by hawk," the two other faces lit up in excitement. "There's nothing from the Avatar," Gran deflated while Sokka stilled eyed the letters excitedly, "And nothing from Suki."

"Oh," Sokka deflated, only to perk right up. "Did you discuss the Council Hall with the other elders? If we're going to expand this city, then we need-"

"Not now, son. I have much more pressing problems."

"You mean like how you're going to get that fire-cat daughter of yours to stay someplace she doesn't want to." Gran questioned as she picked up the three letters. "These letters from Fire Lord Zuko will only cheer her up so much, they won't make up for her disappointment, and they won't lessen any malice towards you, my son."

"I know." Hakoda buried his face in his hands for a second, rubbing it roughly before glancing back up. "Isn't there enough work for her here? Don't we have enough rebuilding of our own to do? Why must she desire this job in the North, can't she be a diplomat here, can't she train waterbenders here?"

"Sure, like we've got a bunch to train." Sokka commented, ignoring the warning glare his grandmother sent him, "And like we're anywhere near the trading and diplomacy levels of the Northern Tribe. Face it dad, we're still a back hick town." Spotting an opportune moment, Sokka continued, "You know, if you would just listen to my ideas on-"

"Sokka, now is not the time to harass your father about city plans."

"Fire, fine. My genius can wait until you harness the fire-cat." Sokka turned his head away to sulk.

Swiping a hand across his face again, Hakoda reached out to take the letters from Gran and resolutely stood. "Perhaps I should have a talk with Katara." Turning, the older man mustered his bravest front, ignoring Sokka's "Nice knowing you-" and stepped into the kitchen.

Katara stood before the fire, gazing into the boiling waters intently. There was no mistaking the sulking air that seemed to hang about her, the frown etched deeply on her face, and her hands placed firmly on hips. She pointedly ignored her father's entrance and continued to scowl at the rapidly heating water.

Hakoda fidgeted, recalling in his mind a similar occasion with her mother. He'd lost that battle, and he had a feeling he would eventually lose this battle. "I come bearing gifts." Hakoda offered the letters forwards, much as a man would tentatively offer a famished bear meat. A spark of interest flashed through her eyes, but Katara refused to take the bait. "They're from the Fire Nation."

Katara abandoned the water only to snatch the letters out of his hand and turn her back on him. It was worse than he thought- she was her mother's daughter.

This situation called for compromise, and Hakoda knew more than anything that it was him that needed to do the compromising. But, he couldn't yet stand to see his daughter fly off into the world again; he'd only just gotten her back. "No letter from the Avatar. You aren't worried about your friend?"

"He's busy; he said he'll write when he can." Her response was sharp and basic, her grip tight on the letters.

"You seem to enjoy writing to the Fire Lord-"

"He understands me." Katara fought to keep the hostile snap under control. "He understands what I want in life, and he shares that want." She explained, tucking the letters safely into her belt she turned back to resume her stance by the water.

"That's nice," if not a bit confusing. It was hard to picture his daughter being friendly with a former enemy. But, when Katara chose to accept someone into her heart, she did it ten-fold and never looked back. "I'm glad he can be of assistance to you, and I'm sure he'll find wisdom in anything you offer back." Silence greeted him. "Katara- I know you're still angry-"

"What?" The young waterbender demanded, her attention snapping back to him. "Why should I be angry? All you did was say no to letting me help out, I'm sure Arnook can find a thousand other people to do the job. Why should I be angry that I'm stuck in the South Pole doing nothing while the world recovers from 100 years of war?"

"I wish you could understand my point," Hakoda began, rubbing at his temples. "It's not that I want to keep you here -"

"Why can't you understand my point?" Katara interrupted. "All my friends are off doing some good in the world, rebuilding nations, fostering peace; even Sokka gets to help rebuild the city. I have nothing to do here. I want to help, I want to be a part of the world, father. I can't do that if I'm stuck down here."

"You've only just come back," The water chief defended, "You act as though no one needs you here."

"You need me because I'm your daughter. They need me as a person, as a bender, as a diplomat. I want to do these things, father." Katara turned her back on him, failing at keeping her frustration at bay; she quickly wiped away a tear that threatened to fall. "It's not that I want to leave you, I just want to help."

"Don't we need you as a bender; don't we need you as a diplomat?" Hakoda questioned gently, already feeling his resolve to keep her crumbling.

"It's not the same. You have Sokka, you have help, and you don't need me as Arnook needs me. I can do only do so much here, but up there I'll have opportunities. It's not like I'm abandoning my home for a new one." Katara turned back around. "I will always love you, and this will always be my home. But please don't make me stay here when I can be of help elsewhere."

Hakoda leaned back against the wall, covering his eyes as he tried to come to terms with the statement. A warm pair of arms circled around him, pulling him into an embrace. Hakoda tightened his arms, clinging to his little girl for a few more movements, before pulling back to gaze down at her tear stained face, "Alright, spirits help me, I don't want to see you go again, but I understand."

* * *

The waves clung tightly to the shores of ice as Katara picked her way along the paths. In the distance, she could still see the ice walls of the small village. Since the end of the war, several more families had joined their small village. In addition, since they no longer had to move around as much, several men had started construction on permanent ice lodges. She could see the potential shinning through. In a way, it did break her heart to leave them again, but everything in her screamed for her to head north. Something was calling her away; something that she felt was larger than the small village.

Reaching a familiar spot, the waterbender took a seat and listened to the quietly lapping waves. Katara had only a little time to herself, in such a tiny village there was always someone poking over her shoulder or asking her a question. Here she could enjoy a second of silence and- Katara slipped a warm hand into her jacket and felt the soft paper caress her fingertips. Gently pulling the first letter out, she ran a hand over the expensive paper.

With Zuko's first letter she had been amused, slightly shocked that he'd kept his promise- well, not so much that he'd kept the promise, but that he'd written so quickly. The next letter had arrived shortly after. Now three months and a dozen letters later, Katara found her heart beating wildly in anticipation. There was nothing special about his correspondence; it just seemed to shine a light on her day. The conversations they had were common, but they could somehow make her feel giddy at the prospect. Katara snorted at the thought, and gently tore the letter open.

_Katara,_

_I am glad to hear that your family is well and you will be pleased to hear that I have finally had word of our wayward friends. A farmer from the northern coast reported that he spotted the Avatar and a small girl chasing after a giant fire-lizard. However, he recounted the event as having taken place several months ago. I intend to send an inquiry, but doubt that it will bring much. Despite their disappearance, I have little doubt that both are faring well. Aang is schooled in all elements and Toph is grounded, she will keep him steady in the course of his training._

_Uncle has finally departed for Ba Sing Se, he longs for the comfort of his teashop. I miss him; the council he's given me through life has been the greatest, though I did not always deserve it. _

_Everyday a new challenge arises. Though I feel this is my destiny and that my honor rides on all that I do, I do find myself questioning, struggling. Without the support that you, Aang, Toph, and even Sokka provided, my resolve crumbles a little. You have no idea how easy you made the first two months of my rule, and how I can never repay you for the assistance you've given me._

_A new outcrop of malcontents has surfaced; they've been making a fuss on the southern shores and my advisors are torn over how to act. Half of them want public hangings and beatings, while the other half beg for mercy and forgiveness. I do find it hard to act on either accord, seeing that we have yet to ascertain their location or capture them. It is amazing at how insipid advisors can be, jumping to conclusions when we have yet to master the problem. I'm reluctant to admit this, but I find myself missing your brother's harebrained schemes. If you tell him that, I will kill you._

_Mai and I are attending…_

"What does the boy have to say?" Gran-Gran questioned as she clambered through the snow to join her granddaughter.

Katara nearly jumped a foot at the sound of her grandmother's voice and tucked the letter away, "Not much; he's had word of Aang and is dealing with some lingering rebels."

"That must be a comfort to know."

"I suppose," Katara answered, fingers twiddling with her jacket. "I've never doubted Zuko's confidence so-"

Gran-Gran furrowed her brow, a hand reaching out to touch Katara's arm. "I meant you must be relieved to hear about the Avatar." Katara's mouth gaped open for a second, before snapping shut as she turned her head away. Gran knelt slowly beside her, hand still lightly touching the girl's arm. "Would you like to talk about something? I've never been one to pry, too much, but it seems to me that this may be one of the occasions where prying is wanted." The waterbender frowned and Gran continued, "I thought you and the Avatar had something."

A sigh heaved out of Katara's chest and her head slumped forward. "It's- it's just confusing." Rubbing her cold palms against her forehead, she turned to stare at her grandmother. "I don't know- I don't understand. I LIKE Aang. I like him a lot; he's brave, he's relatively handsome, but he's-" Words failed her and Katara turned her head away again, focusing on the rapidly setting sun. Across the village, someone was shouting for a wandering child, but neither Katara nor Gran seemed to pay heed to the call.

Gran nodded her head after a moment. "I think I understand. There is something that frightens you."

"No, it isn't that," Katara defended. "I just don't know how I feel. There's nothing wrong with him, he's a great friend- a wonderful friend."

"But he's a friend," Gran emphasized, her hand rising to smooth over Katara's hair. She turned away toward the horizon, recalling memories of her own. "And it's never easy to transition from friend to something else. Sometimes closeness is mistaken for things it is not and sometimes we're too afraid to test the waters, least a good friend be lost. Either way it's a hard call."

Katara frowned, fiddling with her jacket again. "Is that it?" She questioned. Was that why she was so hesitant to take a step with Aang? "I don't know Gran, I know he likes me, and I feel like I should like him back, but something inside of me just stops at that thought. Why is that? Shouldn't I feel something different; I am not saying I expect parades of emotions. But I don't expect everything inside me to just stop at the thought of-" Katara stopped herself from going further. In the distance they could hear Sokka calling for them.

"It's time we head in, child." Gran stood and reached down to help pull Katara up. "I don't think I can help you on this one. It's a decision you have to make on your own." But, as they turned to head home, Gran paused and smiled down at the younger girl. "I will give you one piece of advice; give it time. You have a long life to live and there is no rush. If it is love, it will have patience beyond eternity. And, at the risk of sounding like a corny old loon, trust your heart." Wrapping her arms comfortingly around Katara's shoulder, the two meandered back towards the village. "Things will work out in the end, though you may be surprised by the outcome, things will work out for the best."

* * *

Thanks to everyone that Alerted, added a Favorite, or Reviewed! Next chapter promises more Aang and Toph.


	4. Towards Omashu

**Leaving Things Behind Us by Lady Cleo**

**Chapter Four - Towards Omashu.**

**The Time:** Five months since Aang's departure.

**The Place:** Somewhere in the North Pole.

* * *

"I hate this frozen tundra." Toph wrapped her arms tightly around herself, shivering as she inched closer to the fire. The wind chilled her bone, forcing the earthbender to pull her limbs in closer. Momo chatted unhappily from the hood of her jacket, prompting Toph to expose a limb. Pulling the creature down, she tucked him into her jacket. "Whose idea was it to come up here?" she questioned the lemur. "Blind, frozen, and dressed in ridiculous layers of fur that couldn't keep cold off anymore than a wet blanket does."

"Stupid Twinkle Toes, stupid Taskmaster, stupid North Pole," the mumblings weren't solving the problem of freezing limbs anymore than the small fire at her side. "We've been stuck on this icicle for a month now. Haven't seen a spark of civilization in four months-" She tried to scoot closer to the fire, but anymore and she'd wind up sitting in said fire. "Who ever heard of catching an ice spirit? What kind of stupid quest is that anyway? I'm starting to think Roku is just having fun watching us run around the world." Silence greeted Toph, a shiver ran down her spine into her boots. Her hands were trembling again. "As soon as we get off this icy trap, I'm never coming back. Next Pole mission Twinkle Toes can handle himself." The wind howled angrily in her ears, making Momo chatter, his poor frozen limbs curling tightly into a ball.

Warm hands gripped Toph, yanking her to her feet. "I did it," Aang shouted breathlessly as he appeared from nowhere. Impervious to the cold, he danced excitedly in front of her a ring of warmth radiating off him like a beacon. After four hours of shivering next to a wimpy fire, Toph couldn't resist the temptation. Ignoring Aang's startled squeak, Toph buried her face in his jacket, hands digging into the pockets as she pressed her shivering body against the airbender. Momo squawked indignantly, squirming between the two bodies. "Uh, Toph-"

"Stupid firebender," Toph mumbled soaking in the warmth from his body.

The blush hued Aang's cheeks, his hands coming down to rest awkwardly on her shoulders. "Alright, as soon as this storm clears we're out of here. Roku" a small growl erupted from the shivering mass buried against him, "wants us to head down to Omashu for an earth conference. In the mean time, there's a cave just a few feet away where we can wait out the storm."

Aang tired to take a step away, but Toph refused to budge. "Uh Toph, I need to get to-" Aang fumbled, trying to squeeze himself out of her embrace. "The sooner you let go, the sooner we can get out of here." Her vice-like grip tightened, then suddenly released him.

Freed, Aang leapt quickly over to the fire, smothering it with a blast of snow as he grabbed their bags. "Appa," he called. A drift of snow moaned and then stood, shaking the layer of snow of to reveal the sky bison. "This way," the Avatar called as bounded off into the snow.

Toph stood routed to her spot, limbs refusing to budge. Appa groaned in her ear, the giant head knocking into her back. "Fine," the earthbender mumbled, forcing her will on the iced limbs she took a small step forward. "Someone's going to get a beating as soon as I thaw out."

* * *

The fire sprayed little warmth into Toph's frozen limbs. Her body curled tightly into itself as she bit down on her lower lip to keep it from trembling. She couldn't sense the cave, she couldn't even sense the fluttering bird heart. But, Aang seemed determine to make up for her lack of sight as he loudly went about making their dinner. "So then I thought if I were an Ice spirit, where would I go?"

"You couldn't have asked yourself that four weeks ago?" Toph questioned, teeth chattering so loudly in her head that she thought her brain might implode.

"Four weeks ago we didn't even now what an Ice spirit was."

"Four weeks ago I could also feel my fingers." Toph mumbled. Aang shoved a bowl of something warm into her hands. Despite her grumbling, Toph gratefully accepted it. She took a bite from the bowl and felt the gooey mess slide down her throat. Another bite followed, the warmth spreading slowly through her chilled body. "You realize that in the last four months we've only finished seven of your taskmaster's quests, we've been to all four nations, and haven't seen any of our friends."

"I knew this wouldn't be easy when I accepted."

Toph felt Aang take a seat beside her, the warmth still radiating off him. "Still, who'd of guessed it would take this long or be this complicated. Who's ever heard of an Ice Spirit, or knew that Dragon-Lizards even existed?" Toph quipped as took another gulping bite. Her toes were still frozen and all she wanted to do was feel them again. "And I for one would have never guessed we wouldn't even get to hear from our friends, much less see them."

"We've been separated before," Aang pointed out.

"Sure, but that was different, Twinkle Toes." Toph frowned; she could hear Aang's foot edging around on the ice. Behind them Appa had started snoring, and at the entrance of the cave a storm was howling. "Those separations always felt brief and passing, this one feels different."

"How?"

The cold crept up Toph's legs and she shuddered, taking another bite. "Sweetness isn't here to heal; Snoozles can't save us with some harebrained scheme, and no Sparky to scold about out stupidity. It's just us. Even if we wanted them to come save our asses from freezing, they have no idea where we are or what were doing." Her toes were not thawing out and the bowl was empty. Scowling at the bowl, she tossed the disappointing article down to the ground. "They wouldn't even have a clue where to start looking for us. We could die up here and the only way anyone would know, would be when some water tribesman pops out a new Avatar."

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Aang admitted. "I guessed this would only take a few months and we'd be out of here, back with our weird little family instead of freezing to death. And even then I thought we'd at least get some chances to send letters." Disappointment laced his voice. His hand suddenly dropped onto her shoulder, "Toph if you want I can- hey, you're freezing."

"Well, we are in the middle of the artic, Twinkle. Cold kind of comes with the territory." Toph snorted, fighting off another shiver. She caught the sound of Aang unbuttoning his jacket, "What are you doing, idiot, you'll freeze-" His hands grabbed her shoulders, yanking her close he pressed her body to his, the folds of his jacket wrapping around her to create a cocoon of warmth. The heat of his soft body spread quickly, thawing out the small earthbender as she unabashedly snuggled her face against his neck, soaking up every inch of warmth he had to offer.

"I'm sorry." Aang whispered quietly into her ear.

Toph knotted her hands around him, clinging tightly to the fluttering heartbeat. "I'd punch you if it didn't mean being cold again. I knew what I was doing, Twinkle Toes. Maybe I didn't figure that I'd be freezing in the North Pole, but I knew it would be hard, and I chose to take it." Aang stayed quiet, his hands gently rubbing up and down her back. A smile cracked against Toph's lips, "I can feel my toes again."

"Good to know," Aang chuckled.

Toph settled on listening to the bird-like heart fluttering in his chest. It was a light, and she could have sworn that it skipped every other beat. Her eyes closed, as she felt sleep creeping up on her limbs. Aang's heart fluttered out of beat and the smile vanished from her lips, "Stop thinking so much."

"Huh?" Aang questioned, his hands stilling on her back. "I wasn't."

"Now you're lying. I may not have earth beneath my feet but pressed this close to your chest I can tell what you're feeling, Twinkle Toes." She ignored the blush that accompanied her statement and continued, "Something is bothering you."

Aang hesitated, his hand drifting to rest on the small of her back. "It's just the next step of our journey is Omashu. There will be letters waiting for us. And as much as I can't wait to read them, the thought terrifies me."

"What's so bad about letters? I mean, that's a good thing. We can finally find out what the rest of the world has been up to and tell somebody about all the crazy stuff we've done."

Aang's heart leapt in his chest again, "I know, but what are we going to tell them?"

"You lost me. We'll tell them how we almost frozen to death in the North Pole, that there's such a thing as an Ice Spirit, or about the time that Fire-Lizard tried to chomp you down for dinner. Heck, you'll probably have to write a novel about all the crazy stuff that's happened to us over the last four months, and they're not going to believe half of it."

"That's not it," Tension laced his voice, and she could feel his fingers twisting in frustration along her lower back. "Their letters are all going to start, _'Dear Aang, we're all a little worried that we haven't heard from you…' _but how do I answer that? Do I justify that there just wasn't enough time? Do I admit that despite the love I have for them all, that sometimes all I think about is you, Appa, and Momo. It wouldn't paint a pretty picture."

"Sure, Twinkle Toes, it might not be a pretty picture, but they don't expect a pretty picture." If it hadn't of been so cold, she would have punched him in the shoulder for emphasis. "We've been through war with these guys; they've almost been eaten, they've staggered into camps and passed out, they've done stupid impossible things, and I'm not sure about the freezing, but they've been through tough environments too."

"That's not the point, Toph," his fingers froze, his chest expanding as he took a deep breath. "We haven't written in four months. That's what I'm trying to say, how do I explain that I couldn't make time for even one letter?"

"Make time, did you hit your head on something, Twinkle Toes? How about you mention that the last three towns we visited were so war torn that they didn't even have a mail system established." She poked a finger in his back for added stress. "What are we supposed to do, stop over in a city just to kick off a letter? Carry scrolls when we're not sure if our food supply will last us long enough? Take along a hawk so we can ship off a letter every now and then? How about you explain to Taskmaster Roku that your buddies won't understand the lack of letters so you need some time off?"

Aang was uncharacteristically silent, prompting Toph to continue, "Look, you're the Avatar, and those closest to you are going to have to make sacrifices. I understand that, and I'm pretty sure that they understand it too. Your life is not always your own, sometimes other people are going to have to come first, and sometimes your going to have to make time to put yourself first. It's about balance. Isn't that why Roku sent you on this stupid quest, so that you could figure out your balance? And they're family, we've been though enough of a hell together that a few missed letters shouldn't damage what we have." Toph could feel him chest constrict beneath her. "We send letters off when we can, they'll understand that."

His hands tightened their embrace around her, the hesitation still lingering on his voice, "Will they? While we're running around they won't just be sitting twiddling thumbs. They'll have lives of their own, stuff they have to do. And without something to bridge the gap, we'll fall apart."

"You know, for a monk, you're not always the most enlightened fella around." Despite the screaming protest of her limbs, Toph pushed away from him. The cold swept over her body, making her skin tingle. "Bridge what gap? We're family, I'm not even the one who called us that, you are. They took you in, you took me in, and we all took Sparky in. Even if these tasks take us forty years, we will always be family. They're not leaving you behind, we're not leaving them behind." Toph pressed her fist against Aang's heart. "Because they're always inside of us."

Toph could feel Aang smiling sheepishly as he pulled her back down to his chest, "Thanks' Toph. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd of been eaten by a dragon-lizard three months ago and there'd be no need for this conversation." Toph answered confidently as she snuggled back against him. "Now stop thinking so much and concentrate on keeping the furnace warm."

* * *

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, especially to 'myleftshoe' for catching an error on my part! Next chapter: Katara decides Zuko needs a personal assistant.


	5. Reunions: Water and Fire

**Leaving Things Behind Us by Lady Cleo**

**Chapter Five - Reunions: Water and Fire.**

**The Time:** Nine months since Aang's Departure.

**The Place:** Fire Nation.

* * *

"Sire," Zuko looked up from the paperwork on his desk at the sound of his door attendant. "Sire, the dignitary from the Northern Water Tribe has arrived and desires a word with you before tomorrow's council."

Pushing back from his desk, Zuko straightened his vest and stood. "Alright show in the Tribesman." The frustration built up in Zuko's shoulders, forcing him to roll them back in an attempt to release the pressure. A glance over the paperwork piled before him, did nothing to relieve his tension. The fire lord moved as far away from the work as possible, coming to stand before the roaring fire, he leaning an arm against the hearth and took an exhausted breath, soaking in the energy that flowed from the flames.

"Southern Water Tribesman would have been a better option."

Zuko spun at the sound of the familiar voice, "Katara." It took him a second to register the face and a second more to catch his breath as he found the slightly smaller girl with her arms wrapped firmly around him, her blue robed body pressed tightly to him. The tension suddenly drained from his shoulders, the weeks of sleepless nights seemingly forgotten as he held onto the cold little body. "What are you doing here?"

"Arnook decided that this would be a great experience for me. So, here I am." Katara grinned, pulling back from him. "I might have encouraged the idea a little." She smiled, a hand coming up to trace the scar, "You look exhausted."

"I'm not, everything is going fine." Zuko assured, pulling her hand away and straightening his spine as he clasped his hands behind his back, "The Fire Nation hasn't known such prosperity in 100 years."

"I know," Katara stepped back away from him, here eyes scanning the room to rest on the over burdened desk. "The rumor is that the new Fire Lord is a natural leader, the best man for the job. But, that wasn't what I said. When's the last time you got a full night of sleep? Because you certainly aren't your prettiest right now."

Zuko opened his mouth to retaliate, then paused as he searched the back of his mind. Katara crossed her arms over her chest, fingers tapping impatiently, eyes boring into him. When he still didn't answer, she turned and waltzed across the room to the desk. "Don't you have any assistants, why aren't they sorting through this stuff for you? I bet half of these are stupid requests for supplies."

"I don't need any assistants," Zuko defended, following after her. "And the ones I do find turn out to be insipid idiots."

The frown popped up on Katara's lips, "So you spend half the night going through these stupid documents when you could be doing a thousand more important things, like getting rest so you can run the country. Didn't you learn anything form your time with us?"

"I can handle-"

Katara's finger leapt up to his lips, silencing Fire Lord, "Don't waste time arguing with me. You'll just make me mad, and I don't want to spend the short time I have with my friend arguing about stupid things like personal assistants."

Pulling her hand away, Zuko glared down at the slightly smaller girl. "I don't need an assistant."

Her hands were back on her hips, eyes boring into him angrily, "Fine, then turn around."

"What, why?" Zuko questioned, thrown by the sudden switch in conversation.

"Oh stop being such a baby." Katara grabbed his arm, trying to turn him away from her.

Zuko pushed her hands away, standing his ground before the waterbender. "I am not a baby."

A dangerous flash of anger shimmered in her eyes, "Yes, you are, now turn around and take off your shirt."

Zuko's mouth gaped open, "Excuse me?"

"Just do as I say." Katara ordered, her hands quickly pulling the vest off.

He pushed her away, but she still managed to get rid of the vest, her nimble fingers yanking at his shirt buttons. "Give me one reason as to why I should comply?" Zuko questioned, fighting to push her hands away.

"Because I'm trying to help you." Katara defend. Letting him shove her hands off, she rested them on her hips, she narrowed in on him with an angry glare.

"And this would help me how?"

Katara sighed, pulling on all her strength, she spun the stubborn fire Lord away from her, and yanked the shirt over his head. "Just let me help you, it's what friends are for."

Growling, slightly Zuko spun back around, his chest gleaming in the fire light as he tired to grab his shirt back. "I thought friends were for giving you belittling names, getting you into impossible situations, and then helping you get out of impossible situations."

The shirt disappeared behind her back, the lithe waterbender ducking away from the slightly peeved Fire Lord, "Oh knock it off and just let me help you, I used to do this for Gran- Gran all the time."

"I'm not an old lady."

"No one's calling you an old lady, but I have to say you're acting like an old man." Slipping out of his grasp one more, Katara maneuvered herself behind him, her firm fingers grabbing his shoulder's. "This won't take but a few second."

Zuko grumbled, but kept his back to her. Pulling from her ever-present supply of water, Katara hovered her hands over his shoulder, working the water over the lean muscles. The effect was almost immediate, the muscles loosening as months of built up tension eased away.

The fire light danced over Zuko's well sculpted shoulders, playing off the light skin. Katara smoothed her hands over his muscles, sensing each of the knots, while a knot itself was forming in her own stomach. Each swipe of her hands seem to get closer to his skin as she directed the water. The knot twisted deeper into the pit of her stomach. It was like no feeling she'd experienced before, it wasn't nerves, it wasn't fear, it felt almost like she was extremely giddy and excited.

Katara felt her face flush, and she cleared her throat trying to focus on the task at hand. "See," she whispered, "If you had a personal assistant, you could get this done more often."

"I don't need-" A heavy knocking on the door interrupted the Fire Lord. Katara tossed him back his shirt, moving briskly across the room to hover around the desk. "Come."

"Sire," A servant entered and bowed low. "Madam Bao Mu wishes to convey that dinner is in fifteen minutes."

"Yes, thank you." A quick wave of Zuko's hand dismissed the servant.

"Well, that will cause a few rumors." Katara tasked, shaking her head as she tugged at her braid. "Yet another reason why you need 12 assistants, they would know to keep their mouths shut."

Zuko grabbed his vest, straightening his hair as he turned towards his friends. "Rumors can easily be quelled." Zuko straightened his vest once more and strolled across the room, "Care to allow me to escort you to dinner."

"Sure, why not?" Katara grinned, pushing the feeling to the back of her mind she slipped her arm through his. The two abandoned the study and moved swiftly down the ornate marble hallways. "I just need to stop by my room so I can change. I don't want to show up in travelling clothes."

"What room are you staying in?"

"One of the lower guest rooms."

Zuko frowned, "That won't do, I'll have your stuff transferred to your old guest room."

Rolling her eyes, Katara shrugged her shoulder and waved her free arm causally, "That's ridiculous, I'm fine where I'm staying."

"Don't argue with the Fire Lord, it's dangerous for your health."

"Like I'm afraid of you, I've seen the baby pictures."

Zuko snorted as they turned a corner. "You have nothing against me."

"Please, Sifu Hotman." Katara pulled him to a halt outside of her guest bedroom. Zuko glared at a passing dignity that stared to long. "Why don't you head down to dinner and I'll meet you afterwards."

"That's ridiculous, there is no reason why we can't eat together."

"Zuko, I'm a lower level dignity, I shouldn't be entering with the Fire Lord."

"Wrong, you're the Avatar's Water Master, A General for the Water Tribes, and more importantly a friend. Now go change." His words left no room for argument Katara sighed, but nevertheless turned to enter the room.

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it."

"Good, can't have you getting too comfortable." Zuko answered, crossing is arms across his chest he watched as she rolled her eyes at him before disappearing behind the door. Zuko spun, grabbing the nearest passing guard, "Go fetch Master Yi Zing, now."

The young guard nodded, and darted off down the hallways, barely colliding with another guard before skidding around the corner. Zuko sighed and slowly leaned back against the wall. "She's changed," he declared to himself, tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. "I don't remember her being that tall or that slender. Then again, I'm sure we've all changed since the end of the war." A commotion at the end of the hall startled Zuko out of his thoughts. Pushing off the wall, he straightened and turned towards the sounds of scurrying.

Two men dashed around the corner, skidding into a deep bow before Zuko. "Your exulted Fire Lord, you desire my unworthy presence?"

Digging down into himself, Zuko pulled forth his calmest exterior, "Rearrange the seating so that Lady Katara is sitting at my right hand."

The small man's face dropped, mouth gapping open, "But-but sire, Advisor Tao Yuan is assigned that place."

A well-placed glare silenced the man. Zuko took another deep breath, "During her stay she is always to have a place at my right hand, she is an exulted War Hero and deserves the honor that would be bestowed upon one."

"Yes, sire," The gapping man motioned at his aid and a flurry of paper appeared. "It will be done as you requested." Another Low bow followed.

Zuko nodded his approval, "While I have you here, tell Madam Bao Mu to have Lady Katara's belongings transferred to the Royal Guest chambers. She's to have the first room next to the fountains. For future reference, if any of the Avatar's friends arrive there to be given first preference, we owe them our lives and kingdom."

"Of course, sir, please forgive my ineptitude." Another low bow followed.

Zuko dismissed the bumbling man with a wave of the hand and turned. The door opened again, Katara stepped into the hallway in a new-layered gown of white and blue, her hair down and decorated with ornamental water beads.

"That was fast, I thought it would take at least half an hour."

"What are you implying?" Katara demanded with an amused grin, her hands dropping down to her hips. "Because if I remember correctly it takes four men to get you dressed in the mornings."

Zuko offered his arm to her, "Truce?"

"Accepted," Katara slipped her arm through his and the pair started back down the hallway. "Things have certainly changed around here."

"Peace brings prosperity to my people." Zuko suggested as they rounded the corner. Around them the servants paused, bowing low before the Fire Lord. "War destroyed so much, and now they are learning that Peace brings so much."

"That's not what I meant," Katara answered, she felt oddly comfortable on his arm, despite the long stares she was sure they were receiving. "Formal dinners, servants, things weren't nearly this organized when we left."

"Uncle helped a lot, he found me a trustworthy housekeeper," Zuko explained as they came to a pair of stairs. "Madam Bao Mu organizes everything and then reports to me. I wouldn't have known what to do with 200 hundred guest bedrooms and the 400 towels that went with them."

Katara paused, forcing the Fire Lord to stop with her, "So, why are you so against having a personal assistant?" She questioned with a smirk.

The roll of his eyes could not be missed, "They only get in the way."

"Not if you find the right one." Katara insisted, letting Zuko pull her along up the stairs. "What does Mai say about all this?"

Zuko stopped on the topmost step, a frown etched in his face. "I haven't spoken to Mai in a while, she headed south to be with her family."

Something about his voice alarmed Katara, "Everything alright?"

"She's not much into politics, she finds it boring, and I'm afraid my life seems to be nothing but politics." Zuko explained, his eyes avoiding hers.

"I can understand that." Katara whispered, her free hand rose to rest gently on his shoulder, "If you want to talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about." He ignored her sad expression and turned, leading her towards the dinning room. One his cue, the intricate pair of doors swung open as a confident servant announced there titles. Opening up before the pair lay the opulently decorated dinning room. A massive ornate table was centered in the room, with towering marble columns accenting it's presence. The table itself was dressed in a fiery red silk cloth, porcelain and gold plates piled high with the delicacies of the Nation. Standing in rows along the red table stood the night's dinners guests, each dressed in their finest attire, and all bowing before the Fire Lord.

Katara felt her face flush in embarrassment. "Wow, you've spruced this place up." Zuko smirked, leading her around the massive table he took her to the right hand seat and pulled the chair out. Katara blanched nervously, "Uh, Zuko, I don't think."

"You didn't complain nine months ago, so don't start now." A gentle nudge sent Katara into the chair. Zuko smiled triumphantly and took seat. A wave of his hand and the long rows of guests rose from their bows to take their seat. Conversations started up down the row as servants began laying out the massive dinner planned. "Lady Katara, you'll remember Advisors Yuan."

The short dumpy man sitting beside Katara smiled in a friendly manner, "I remember the Lady quite well, if not for her kindness I would not be in my position." He had a mustache that reminded Katara of Sokka's fake beard.

"Of course," Katara smiled. "So tell me, Advisor Yuan, do you have a personal assistant?" Zuko groaned.

"Oh yes, Lady, I have four."

Cocking her head to the side, Katara grinned, "What do you look for in a personal assistant?"

"Trustworthy, loyal, the ability to organize and prioritize," Yuan mused aloud, stoking his mustache. "Most importantly they must be discreet and able to hold their tongues, of course a little gossip is never harmful, as long as it's controlled. Would your ladyship wish to borrow an assistant?"

Her laughter filled the room, calling the attention of several of others. "No, no thank. Fire Lord Zuko needs a few good assistants."

"Find one good one, Lady, and he can surely provide the rest. I have some free time tomorrow, if you would like any assistance in this manner."

Katara nodded, "That would be perfect, I don't have a dignitary meeting into tomorrow afternoon. Why don't we meet in your office and we can hash out a general plan of action."

Zuko leaned over to glare at his honored guest. "I don't need an assistant."

* * *

"Meet your assistant."

Zuko groaned, pushing himself up he stormed around the massive desk to tower over the waterbender. "Has it ever occurred to you that when I say I don't need an assistant, it means I don't need an assistant?"

The waterbender wasn't easily intimated, turning around she pulled a young guard into the room. "Sergeant Bi Zhu is an accomplished military strategist, he knows more about organizing and prioritizing then several of your generals, and not to mention that before he was transferred to Guard duty, he was assistant to a company commander."

Zuko shook his head, "I don't know how you managed it, but it was a pointless." Turning away, Zuko began to pace the length of his office. Katara quietly nudged Bi Zhu in the direction of Zuko's desk. "I have enough duties to handle myself. I can't be bothered with babysitting an assistant. It would take weeks to train them, to find someone who does not grate on my last remaining nerve after a long day. And it would take weeks for them to figure out what's important and what can be set aside for later."

"Try minutes." Katara grinned, motioning to the now neatly organized desk.

Zuko's mouth dropped open. The Sgt. steeped forward carrying two scrolls, he offered them forward with a bow. "Forgive me, Fire Lord Zuko, the first is a message from General Ju that arrived yesterday, it may have to do with his campaign to weed out the remaining rebels. And the second is a letter from the Avatar that arrived last week."

"The Avatar?" Katara piped up, scurrying over to stand at Zuko's shoulder.

Bi Zhi bowed, "If you will excuse me, sir, I will attend to some of these reports." Zuko nodded his head starring down at both scrolls in awe. The young solider grabbed a pile of work and departed from the room, closing the doors behind him.

"Well." Katara prompted impatiently. "Open it."

Zuko slowly unrolled the letter.

_Zuko,_

_We're in Ba Sing Se, and Toph is not happy about it. Though, when I suggested it was better than a Pole she stopped grumbling. We're only staying for three days, Roku wants me to keep up appearances in the Courts, and by courts, I mean all the Courts. So, don't be too surprised if we show up unexpectedly on your doorstep someday. _

_This is the first second that we've had to ourselves since landing. Toph is passed out in exhaustion from the grand multitudes of tours we've been forced on. Kuei and Bosco were excited to see us; he even set us up with Royal Guest rooms in the Palace. It saves time, but cuts back on privacy. That's alright though, we're not used to seeing people so I think it's a good idea to have them around when we can. I been assigned a peace keeping task, but I'd almost prefer chasing a giant Moose-Lion. Court is long and tedious, it didn't help that Kuei wanted to set a standard, which resulted in a long arduous debate about Court standards. _

"What does he mean by set up a standard?" Katara questioned, glancing up from the letter to stare at Zuko.

"It probably means that Kuei wanted to establish Aang's rights in his court. In essence, to ensure the nobility treat Aang with the respect that he deserves. I'd be wise to do the same when he comes to court. Not that Aang is usually disrespected, but there will be a few people who see a boy and not an Avatar."

"Set a standard, how?"

"Offer him the right hand seat, bow in deference to him, seek his counsel openly. It's small things that might make Aang uncomfortable, but would serve in his best interest."

_I think I settled it well, though Toph claims she got the rough end of it. I'll explain in more detail when I get more time. _

_We just returned from a long stint on a deserted island. We spent the entire time chasing a water spirit; it was fun, but hard work. That makes three of them now; Ice Spirit, Flame Spirit, and Water Spirit. Toph thinks the next one is going to be a Dirt spirit; it would be an interesting sight. But Roku told me that my next task was to do some demon-sitting. I have to chase down some escaped demons and figure out a way to either send them back to the Spirit World, or banish them from the Mortal World. Who knew being Avatar was so much work?_

_We're hoping to get to see General Iroh before we leave; Toph and I have mapped out a plan to sneak in a second with him. The Jasmine Dragon isn't far from the palace, if we can just escape for a few minutes he'll be the first family we've seen in nine months. Toph's written, or she talked and I transcribed, a letter to her parents. I've been trying to talk her into seeing them, but she says if I don't get a chance to see my family, why should she?_

_Toph's awake now, we're going to go see if we can fit in a moment with your uncle now. Not sure when I'll get to write again, we're heading to the lower earth kingdom and their mail system isn't as effective as Ba Sing Se's. Not sure how long that will take, but I think Roku's sending us back to Omashu after that. Hope all is well in the Fire Nation,_

_Aang_

Zuko folded the letter closed.

"It doesn't sound like he's eating enough, and I think Toph might have a cold." Katara frowned, pacing the length of the room. "Do you think they're alright, I mean from the letter you could go either way. He mentioned Toph sleeping; maybe she does have a cold. They both sound overworked, I think someone really ought to tell Avatar Roku that they are working way too hard. But it's good that he finally got Toph to write her parents, Spirits know I've been trying since she ran away-"

"Katara," Zuko's sharp tone put an abrupt end to the waterbenders pacing. "They're not children, they can take care of themselves."

"You're right." Katara sighed. "I just worry so much about them."

"A little too much if you ask me." A log crackled over the fireplace as Zuko drummed his fingers along his arm. "I've been meaning to ask if you ever spoke to Aang about what happened-"

"And to think," Katara interrupted, a grin spreading over her face as she turned away from the Fire Lord. "If I hadn't of found you an assistant it might have sat there for who knows how long."

"Classic diversionary tactic," Zuko muttered. Katara ignored the comment. Zuko withheld a sigh, she was obviously not ready to talk about any feelings she might have for Aang. "Perhaps you would like to enlighten me on how exactly you found this brilliant assistant." He declared in a droll tone, eyes rolling as he watched the waterbender preen in front of him.

"It's was relatively simple, first I went to Advisor Yuan again. He told me that the staff was full of able-bodied assistants. But, I said I wanted the best, so he sent his staff out to find some candidates. Unfortunately, none of those met my demanding qualifications. I didn't want just an organizer and or someone that could prioritize, I wanted someone who could really multitask, someone who had some knowledge of politics and the military so they could offer insight. I admit, it was quiet a handful to fill."

Zuko leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest, "However did you do it?" He deadpanned.

"Wait, it gets better." Katara ignored Zuko's sarcastic manner and continued. "I remembered that you mentioned your housekeeper, Madam Bao Mu. Nobody knows the people in a palace as well as the housekeeper. I learned that back in Ba Sing Se. So right after my morning meeting, I went straight to her office. And, sure enough, she had a whole list possible candidates. From there it was only a matter of weeding the bad personalities. I though Sgt. Bi Zhi would handle the job the best. He's military, so he can take orders without question. Quiet, so he won't bother you when you're working. And best of all-"

"How could it get any better?"

"He can brew a really good cup of tea." Katara finished with a flourish and a wide grin.

"Fine," Zuko did his best to stop his eyes from rolling, "I'll give him a trail period."

Katara clapped her hand together eagerly, "Great-"

"As long as," Zuko interrupted, a finger pointing at her, "you refrain from gloating."

"Fine," She huffed, sulking quietly, "take all the fun out of it."

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews.

Next Chapter: Aang and Toph meet a troublesome creature, that leads to some troublesome scenarios - but they're troublesome in two entirely different ways.


	6. Task Eighteen

**Leaving Things Behind Us by Lady Cleo**

**Chapter Six - Task Eighteen.**

**The Time:** One Year since Aang's Departure.

**The Place: **Somewhere South of Gaoling.

* * *

Toph shoved away an overhanging branch, her breathing heavy as she raced through the woods. She stumbled, catching herself with a hand and pushing herself forward. The sweat beaded across her forehead, her limbs felt heavy from fatigue, her feet sore from the constant running. Overhead she could hear the soft whooshes of air Aang created as he leapt from treetop to treetop.

With each footfall, Toph sent out small seismic vibrations, feeling along the roots of massive trees as she fought to catch the fall of invisible paws. There, up ahead in the clearing she felt what could have just been four tiny raindrops hitting the earth. They were there for a second, then vanished. Pulling from her stores of energy Toph picked up the pace.

Charging into the clearing, Toph skidded to a halt and bent over, hands pressed to her knees as she fought to catch her breath. "Twinkle Toes, I can't feel her." She called out, taking another gulping breath. "Her footsteps are too light." Silence. Toph took another deep breath and pushed herself up, listening intently for the sound of Aang's air. Nothing. "Too quiet." She mumbled to herself, gathering her sapped energy she took a defensive stance, senses on high alert.

There- Toph spun around, pushing a ripple of earth towards a tiny patter of feet. Only the patter was gone already. A powerful force knocked into her knees, Toph tumbled to the ground. She rolled, blasting earth as a childish laughter filled the air.

Growling in frustration, Toph picked herself up, rubbing her sore side. "Show yourself you little fox." Nothing answered. A small paw-like hand grabbed her left foot, yanking. Toph flailed backwards, her feet flying up as her body slammed into the ground.

"That's enough," Aang's voice filled the clearing. His light footsteps touched the ground and the small creature gasped, her presence vanishing from the clearing. "Roku wasn't kidding when he said a nine-tailed fox was a lot of work." Reaching down, he pulled Toph swiftly to her feet and surveyed the clearing.

"When I get my hands on that little vixen, there's going to be nothing left." Toph moaned as she rubbed at what was rapidly turning into the world's largest bruise. "You want to explain again why the taskmaster has us chasing this- this-"

"Gumiho," Aang supplied with a chipper tone. Toph growled in response. Glancing back around, Aang continued, "She escaped from the Spirit World and needs to be sent back."

"Escaped? She was probably kicked out."

Aang laughed gently at the comment and turned to face his companion, "Look, she's not going anywhere tonight, why don't we head back to camp and continue the search tomorrow?"

"Fine by me, call Appa."

"I have a better idea." Aang's hand wrapped around Toph's waist, the staff knocking into the ground as he leapt up.

"What? No-" Toph's world went black as she screeched, her arms clinging to the Avatar, the swoosh of air surrounding them. Her legs clawed around him as her face pressed to his chest. "You promised no more flying," Toph shrieked, clinging tightly to the lean form as her life flashed before her eyes.

The swoosh of air suddenly stopped. Aang righted himself, his feet lightly landing on the ground, glider clicking shut. "Alright."

Toph gingerly-unwrapped one leg, her foot pawing the air in search of solid foundations, "I don't feel anything."

"You're too short," Aang laughed, hands still lightly resting on her lower back.

"It's not my fault you're turning into a tree. Stop growing already and I'll catch up." Toph growled, unwrapping herself she dropped down to the ground and promptly launched him into the air with earth.

The airbender recovered quickly, landing on his feet a few steps away from her. "Doubtful." The comment invoked another attack as Toph aimed a boulder for his shoulder, Aang dodged. "Getting slower in your old age too."

"Says the old man," Toph retorted, marching over to glare at his chest she poked him roughly, "You weren't the one getting pummeled, she sees you and darts away."

"I guess she's afraid of me." Aang turned to survey their little camp. Appa groaned in greeting to the two of them, as Momo chattered happily, launching himself at Aang.

"Afraid of you?" Toph questioned. Dropping down to the ground, she began massaging her feet as Aang bended a warm flame over the logs. "More like fascinated and petrified; she runs faster then Snoozles at a meat festival when she sees you. Stupid little fox." Groaning, Toph moved her hands to her side and gently prodded the skin, she could already feel the bruises forming. "Any idea where we are?"

"No, I didn't recognize any landmarks." Aang turned away, hopping deftly over to their bags of supplies in search of some rice for dinner. Standing up, Toph stretched out her sore muscles and stamped a foot, sending a soft vibration out to get a feel for their surrounding. Aang glanced up from his preparations, "What are you doing?"

"I felt a small river somewhere around here." Another stomp seemed to locate what she was looking for, "I'm going to go take a bath."

"What happened to the healthy layer of dirt?" Aang questioned, rising to his feet.

"You're stupid Gumiho happened to it." Toph picked her way through the camp and headed for a clump of bushes.

"Alright," Aang called after her, bending back down over the fire. "Just keep an eye- I mean a feel out for the Gumiho. And make it fast, the sun's setting."

* * *

The shirt fell to the ground and Toph let a relieved sigh follow it. Pulling her hair down, she stripped off the bracelets and foot cuffs, before tossing the rest of her belongs down into the pile. Clad only in her bindings, the petite girl stepped into the knee-deep water and sank down.

The water was cold, but the gently ripple of waves soothed the thousands of stinging muscles in her body. Leaning her head back, she let the soft currents soak into her hair, tingling along the roots. The silence of the woods soothed frayed nerves as the water worked to wrinkle out the kinks in her shoulders.

Twinkle Toes was getting taller, her own clothes were fitting far too snuggly. Things were changing at an abnormally fast rate. She supposed it was growing up, although to be honest she'd thought they'd grown up long ago. Only now, bodies were catching up. A red hue spread across Toph's cheeks as she thought back to the airbender's lean form.

Toph shook the implications of the thought off quickly. She wasn't going down that route again; not after Snoozles and not if she had a choice. Okay, she was becoming very aware of the airbender, but it meant nothing. And so what if Aang's voice had taken on an oddly attractive quality, and the feel of his presence was deeper.

All in all, it was only adding up to frustration: frustration over the tasks, frustration over her awareness, frustration over the physical changes. If she stumbled across one more frustrating thing, Toph was positive she'd explode. Maybe she ought to take up meditation-

"What am I thinking?" Toph questioned herself aloud. Pushing herself upright, she stepped onto the bank and reached down for her clothes.

* * *

"Grow a backbone and show yourself!"

Panic gripped Aang's heart as Toph's shout echoed over the clearing. Dropping the pot, he snatched the staff and leapt over the fire, darting in the direction of her voice.

"Toph?" Charging through the bushes, Aang skidded to a halt; body snapping into a defensive position as he surveyed the surrounding. Toph stood beside the river, hands resting angrily on her hips.

"She took my clothes."

"Oh, is that all?" Aang let his body relaxed only to tense up again as he took in the situation. Toph stood across from him, her body dripping wet and clad only in her bindings. The long waves of black hair lay over her shoulders, bangs plastered to her face as the setting sun cast rays of light over the toned physique. Gazing at the shinning female before him, Aang suddenly found it harder to breathe, his eyes uncontrollably pinned in places they shouldn't have been. Panic set back in and he spun in the opposite direction. "What am I thinking?"

"Yeah, what are you thinking?" Toph demanded. "_Is that all_, she took my clothes, what the heck as I supposed to wear now? Just walk around in my bindings like some kind of Earth hussy?"

Leaning his staff against a tree, Aang spun back around and yanked the shirt off his back, gingerly handing it to the blind girl. "Here, take this. In the morning I'll fly into the nearest town and get you something else to wear."

"I'm starting to think Katara's lame idea of bringing more than one outfit isn't so terrible." Toph slipped the shirt on and tossed the long waves of black hair over her shoulder. Aang sucked in another breath, eyes going wide as he watched the action.

"Ah, sure, not a bad bod- idea." Clearing his throat, he spun back around and reached for his staff. His hand met air. The Avatar paused and glanced up and down the tree. "Uh, Toph" he questioned, "Staff's don't usually walk away, do they?"

"Sure, just about as often as clothes do." Toph answered with a sarcastic smirk, "She took your staff too, didn't she?"

"Either that or a Mouse-Squirrel decided it would make a nice decoration." Aang frowned. "Well, I suppose she can't take much more." He froze at the thought and turned back to Toph. "Appa," The two shouted in unison before darting off towards the camp.

Thrashing his way through the woods, Aang skidded to a halt beside the campfire and groaned half in relief and half in pain as Toph stopped beside him.

"What is it?" Toph asked. The large sky bison still snored away, Momo was chattering angrily on a nearby tree, shaking his fist at nothing, before scurrying up into the branches. But, where their supplies had once been neatly stored, now lay a mess of upturned and empty bags.

"She might not have lugged off Appa, but she took all of our supplies." Aang scurried over to the disarray, rummaging though the upturned packages,

"What?"

"It's gone, all gone." Aang sighed, glancing over at the pot he'd left boiling he quickly added, "And- she added a little something to dinner? Feel like having rice al la dirt tonight?"

Toph collapsed into a heap, groaning, "We ought to have strangled her at first sight."

Aang grabbed the messy concoction and tossed the contents into a nearby bush, "It's too late to search for a town, I guess we'll just have to wait it out."

"One night without dinner won't kill anybody, except maybe Snoozles." Sitting back up, Toph swung her hair over a shoulder. "I don't suppose she could do anymore damage tonight. Might as well get some sleep, Twinkle Toes."

Aang slipped around the fire, dropping to the ground beside her, "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Nah," Toph shrugged, "I'm too annoyed right now, I'll take first watch."

Momo hopped down from his tree, scurrying over to bury himself in Appa's fur. Aang frowned, swinging his legs around he scooted closer to Toph, until his back pressed lightly up against hers. "Why don't we both take first watch, whoever falls asleep first gets second watch."

Overhead the stars were slowly emerging as the sun continued to sink beneath the horizon. Toph pressed her hands on either side of her body. Palms pushing into the dirt, she leaned further back against Aang's back. "Maybe's it's just the Gumiho, but I'm starting to wonder why the heck we're out here."

"What do you mean?"

"Why the Taskmaster has us running around chasing weird creatures." Toph explained, digging her toes into the soft dirt.

"I guess I never really thought about it," Aang mused. Scratching at his head, he stared up at the emerging stars. "I always thought things happened for a reason. If I hadn't of run away I wouldn't have met you guys, I wouldn't have known about energy bending. These task's must have their purpose, anyway it's done now and we can't change the past."

"Sure, but things could have been different. I mean, maybe Zuko could have been driven crazy by his father and become a tyrannical maniac like his sister. Why did it happen this way, why did we meet when we did, why are we chasing weird creatures around the world now?"

"I think you're thinking too much." Aang sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"What brought this on?"

Toph shrugged, "I don't know. We've been through a lot over the past few months; it makes me wonder." Toph fidgeted with the airbender's shirt, leaning her head back against his shoulder. "I just- sometimes I just feel like-" She paused.

"Like what?"

"Forget it, Twinkle Toes, let's just pretend this conversation never happened."

Aang fought the urge to turn around and face Toph, instead he let his hand fall on top of hers. "I'm glad things happened the way they did. I'm glad I met you when I did and I'm glad you're here with me now."

"Sure, Twinkle Toes," Toph snorted, "I know you would rather be chasing the Gumiho with Katara."

"Maybe at the start I would have, but that was nine months ago. Things have changed since then." Silence seemed to settle over the pair for a brief second as a cricket took up chirping in the distance. "You know after the war we had everything planned out, or I guess I had everything planned. I thought we would rebuild some of the Air Temples, get to travel together and see the world at peace. Katara and I would be happy together and we'd all get married, have kids, and keep in constant contact."

Toph kept her mouth shut.

"I never guessed Roku would send us out here, that we'd be spending all our time away from family, lucky to see even Iroh for a few hours."

"You can still have all that, Twinkle."

"I know; my plans have just been waylaid for a little." His hand squeezed hers gently. "But, I like the way we are now, I like spending time with you, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

"Thanks." Her hand shifted, fingers interlocking with his. Several seconds of silence ticked by, only to break at the sound of Aang's growling stomach. "Geez, Twinkle Toes, you got a monster in there."

* * *

"_Aang," Katara whispered, her beautiful eyelashes batting down at him, "There's something I wanted to tell you, something I thought about for a long time, something I just didn't know how to word." Aang felt his heart speed up. Katara turned away from him, her cheeks turning red, "Aang I-" She spun around and froze, her beautiful face contorting in confusion. "Aang, why aren't you wearing any pants?" _

_Aang screeched, glancing down at his bare legs. Hunching over, he frantically attempted to cover himself. "Uh, I- I-" The airbender tripped over his words, glancing frantically around for aid._

"_Aang," Katara frowned, her head titling as she gazed quizzically down at the airbender. "Where are your pants?" She questioned again, fingers tapping impatiently._

"_I- I don't know, I had them only a few seconds ago. You have to believe me, Katara, I would never-"_

"_Relax, Twinkle Toes." Toph grinned as she popped up out of nowhere. "I've got them right here." She dangled the pants in her right hand, smirking at the two of them._

"_Aang, why does Toph have your pants?" Katara's hands came up to rest on her hips as she glared accusingly at the boy before her._

_Words failed him._

_Toph took a step forward to stand beside the flustered Aang. "He gave them to me."_

"_Why did you give your pants to Toph?"_

"_Uh-"_

"_Relax, I got this one." Turning slightly Toph directed her speech at the rapidly angering waterbender. "You were fine for a long time, Sweetness, but every boy's got to grow up eventually. And when he does, he's bound to give his pants away to the right caretaker. I just happen to be the right caretaker in this situation." _

_Katara fumed before the two, crossing her arms across her chest she turned to leave, "After everything I've done for you: all the cooking and the cleaning, all the teaching. This is how you repay me, by giving away your pants? Fine."_

"_Katara-" _Aang inhaled a mouth full of hair, eyes flashing open to the red dawn, his heart pounding in his chest. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, Aang lifted his head slightly and stared down. Toph lay sprawled next to him, practically on top of him with an arm and a leg thrown across his body and her head pillowed on his shoulder.

Aang let his head drop back down the ground, eyes fluttering closed. "It was just a dream," he reassured himself, "It means nothing."

Toph's hand moved, her palm pressing flat against his stomach, invoking a weird tingle beneath his skin. Her fingers shifted, slowly tracing out a compass. Ignoring said tingle, Aang furrowed his brow in confusion as he lay still. Her fingers retraced the compass then stopped on northeast corner. Something clicked in his brain and Aang tapped into his sense, forcing his attention on the emphasized direction.

There- four patters, soft, almost like raindrops hitting the earth. Shifting his hand to his chest, Aang covered Toph's hand and tapped four times. She tapped four back.

One, two, three, four- Toph rolled to the left as Aang jumped to his feet. The small Gumiho gave a startled gasp and turned to dive away. Leaping into the air, Aang rolled and pounced. His fingers hooked around the creature's chest as he pulled back, tucking the squirming fox against him as he rolled, skidding to a halt in the dirt. "Got you." Aang cried out triumphantly as the creature yelped, struggling against his iron grip. "Time for you to go home."

"No, please," the Gumiho howled, her voice soft and childish. "I meant no harm. I like humans, they are fun."

Toph picked herself, brushing the dirt off as she snorted at the fox in disdain, "You may think they're fun, but we don't think you're fun."

"I'm sorry, Master Earth. You ran so close; I had to get away. I cannot go back to Grandmother Spirit in such shame. She would cut of my tails and imprison me in the Spirit World." The small fox squirmed in Aang's arms, her tails tucking close to her body as she stared at the humans with wide dewy eyes. "Mortals fear I will eat their livers, tricks are the only way I can get close to them."

Setting the nine-tailed fox down to the ground, though keeping a firm grip, Aang glanced over at Toph, "Can you feel her now?" Toph nodded in response and Aang turned back to the shivering creature. "You've done a lot of harm; stolen food, tricked men down the wrong paths, and possessed women."

"No, no," the childlike voice pleaded. "I am a good fox, not a bad. I stole food because I am hungry, I tricked greedy men not good, I posses women only to teach and learn. Mortals fear me, that is why they called upon you, Master Avatar. I do good, so I may ascend and be human, I am not a bad fox."

"Truth," Toph sighed, turning away she sank back down next to the dying fire, "Figures we'd be chasing a do-gooder."

Aang glanced back to his shivering captive, "You've done enough harm for your time, return to the Spirit World of your own accord, and don't come back while I'm on watch." Aang gently released the creature.

The small fox bowed humbly to them both. "Thank you, Master Avatar, Master Earth. I will do as promised and not return for another hundred years." Turning to depart, the Gumiho paused, "The mortal things I took are hidden behind the giant elm, a thousand pardons for my tricks." Another deep bow and the fox vanished in a poof of smoke and tails.

"Well," Toph pushed herself up, annoyance shinning in her voice. "That was remarkably easy, considering we spent the last month chasing her around the earth kingdom."

"I know," Aang followed her example, pushing himself to his feet he brushed off his pants and turned towards a towering Elm tree. "Which elm tree did she mean, we're surrounded by them?"

"Beats me, Twinkle, you're the one who let her run off pretty easily." Toph turned away from him, her arms crossing across her chest. "So, what was the point?"

"Huh?" Aang froze and turned back to watch Toph. The earthbender was glaring at a nearby tree, fingers tapping on her arms.

"What was the point of us chasing the fox?" Toph questioned, "What was the point of the tasks before that? Why are we doing this?"

"So I can be prepared." Aang answered calmly, recognizing the annoyance in the way her muscles seemed to tense up. "Didn't we talk about this last night, everything has a reason and a purpose."

"What reason, what purpose? How does chasing a fox prepare you for your role as Avatar, how does anything we've done prepare you for anything?" Toph kicked at a nearby stone. "Did you learn anything from the Ice Spirit, from any of the tasks? This feels like one giant goose chase around the world."

"That's not true." Aang defended. "We've learned a lot about the elements, about the people of the Kingdoms. Avatar Roku knows what he's doing. He wouldn't send us on a pointless chase, he has a plan."

"Sure, Twinkle Toes."

Aang frowned, "Why are you angry?"

"Who said I'm mad?" Toph snapped.

Aang leapt back, confused by the unexpected burst. "I can feel your anger."

"Maybe you don't feel everything, Twinkle, maybe this isn't just about you."

"How can this not be about me," Aang questioned, now totally confused and lost. "You say you're frustrated with the tasks; the tasks are about me." He watched the earthbender carefully, trying to gauge his next move. "I don't understand; what did I do wrong?"

"Nothing, you did nothing wrong."

"Then why are you so mad at me?"

"I told you, I'm not mad." Toph spun away, "Let it go already." The earthbender stormed away, shouting back over her shoulder, "I'm going to go find our stuff."

Aang scratched at his forehead in confusion, and turned back to Momo and Appa, "Sometimes I just don't get girls." Appa groaned in response and Momo chattered loudly, jumping up and down in agreement.

* * *

The clouds flew by, the sky bison nimbly navigating through the white fluffy accumulations. Aang glanced down, sharp eyes watching for a glimpse of civilization. Just a few feet ahead, he could see the glimmer of water, which confirmed his belief that they were on the coastline, but he still had no bearings.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Aang peeked over his shoulder at the silent earthbender clinging to Appa's saddle. He swallowed down a sigh and called back to Toph, "We need to restock, and it might be nice to sleep in a bed again."

Toph's head lifted in his direction, "Sure, sounds like a plan." Something about her voice seemed to lack its normal enthusiasm. "Look, Twinkle Toes, about this morning-"

Aang's face flushed, "Don't worry about." Facing forward he peered down though the gaps in the clouds. "Hey, I think that's Kyoshi Island." Squinting down, he stared hard at the rapidly approaching island. It had the right formation and the familiar cove. Urging Appa faster, Aang let his eyes fly over the approaching shoreline, and up the mountain formation. "It's is."

"How can you tell?"

"I don't know of any other island with a giant Kyoshi statue." Aang answered back eagerly. With another yip to urge him on, Appa soared quickly over the water and up the island.

As soon as the sky bison touched ground, the people began to gather. Circling around the giant creature, familiar faces called out eager greetings as Aang leapt down. "We should try and find Suki," Turning back around, Aang caught Toph as she slide to the ground. Setting the earthbender on her feet, he turned around to ask the nearest able-body for the Kyoshi captain's whereabouts.

"Excuse me… coming through… make way…"

Toph's ear perked up, "Is that-"

"Sokka," Aang greeted gleefully, launching towards the water warrior as the elder boy pushed his way through the crowd. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting the love of my life." Sokka quipped, eagerly encompassing both air and earthbender in a giant hug. "Who knew I'd get to see those two kids I fought in the war with too."

"Actually," Suki interrupted as she came up behind the three, "He's waiting for Katara."

"Katara?" Aang and Toph questioned.

"Yeah," Sokka answered with his trademark grin. "She's supposed to land tomorrow, then we're hitching a ride back down south. You landed just in time to see her."

The crowd was still milling around the group, crowding around the war heroes with awed faces. Recognizing the situation lacked need privacy; Suki motioned for the group to follow her, and began to lead them through town. "What are you doing here? The last we heard you were somewhere near Ba Sing Se."

Aang smiled sheepishly, "Ba Sing Se was months ago, tasks ago. We've been all over since then."

"Yeah," Sokka jested, "I can tell by the smell."

"Hey, I took a bath yesterday." Toph defended herself, shoving an elbow into Sokka's side as they mounted the steps of the Kyoshi warrior's house. "That's probably twice as much as you do."

Sokka snorted, waving a hand at the earthbender, "Please, what did you do, roll in dirt afterwards?"

A well-placed glare from Suki silenced Sokka, "So," Suki began as they stepped into the training room, "Like I was saying, what brings you here? We haven't had any need for the Avatar."

"Well," Aang fidgeted with his thumbs, "We just kind of stumbled here. We've been chasing a Gumiho-"

"Gu what?" Sokka questioned.

"Gumiho," Aang answered, continuing with his explanation. "The Gumiho lead us around for a while, well, for the last couple of weeks, and we're low on supplies. You're the first town we hit, and the first sign of civilization we've seen in a long while."

Eyeing the two newcomers wearily, Sokka nodded his head, "I can tell, your whole fashion statement screams it." He shook his head at the two travellers. "You look like you've been wrung through a meat grinder."

"I'm not opposed to saying I feel like I've been run through a meat grinder," Toph bantered back.

Aang glanced down over their attire. He hadn't noticed before, but their clothes were pretty threadbare, and a few inches short thanks to some growth spurts. "I guess we are a little worn around the edges."

"That's putting it mildly," Toph snorted. "We're falling to pieces, bruised in multiple places, and still made to heave ho at the Taskmaster's beckoning. I can't remember the last time we got a restful sleep."

Sokka's head reared back as he stared in awe down at the earthbender, "Wow, cranky pants, where did you come from?" A small clump of dirt launched through the window into the back of Sokka's head. "What? I'm just speaking the truth."

* * *

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Aang fidgeted on the small raised block, watching wearily as the tailor circled him. "I mean, sure they're a little shabby, but-"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Sokka glared up at the younger man, "Please, you look like something an Elephant-Koi just swallowed and spit up. Not to mention if you grow anymore you'll be walking around half naked."

Running a hand down his pants, Aang glanced over at the water warrior, "I didn't think it was bad."

"Arms up please," The tailor commanded, stretching a tape measure along the avatar's arms.

"Let's put it this way, you looked better when Katara brought you back to life. Let the man work his magic."

Aang sighed, "Alright."

Sokka took a seat on a nearby stool, watching at the tape measure circled the airbender's head. "So, spill."

"What?"

"What's up with cranky pants?" Sokka questioned as the tailor paused to write down a few measurements. "You might want to give him an inch or two to grow." The tailor nodded in response, making another note before stretching his tape measure along Aang's torso.

"Toph?" Aang answered, shifting uncomfortably and earning himself a glare, "Nothing."

"I haven't seen her this sharp since we were being chased by Azula."

"I think she's just tired." Aang justified weakly, "Chasing the Gumiho was harder on her than me. Everything I do has been harder on her."

A quick shake of Sokka's head negated Aang's comment. "I don't think so. Toph doesn't get cranky and yell-y unless we're acting stupid."

The reaction from the Avatar was sudden and strong, "Argh, so it was me!" He dropped his arms and pressed a palm against his forehead in frustration. "I knew it had to be me." The tailor growled a warning and Aang quickly recomposed himself.

"What was you?"

* * *

Suki leaned back in her chair as she watched the seamstress measure out the small earthbender's torso. "Frustrated?"

Toph nodded, letting the seamstress measure out the length of her arms. "That obvious?"

Suki kicked up her feet, "Growing up always sucked, and you guys are defiantly at the bad period."

"I don't think it's the changing so much, as the changing so fast, and how it's changing." Toph started to shrug, then stopped herself. "Twinkle Toes and I have always been close, but now it feels like we're too close for comfort sometimes."

* * *

"She always tells me what she thinks, she never holds back. But this morning she seemed upset and angry and she wouldn't tell me why." Aang fidgeted in place, earning another glare. "I mean, she said it wasn't me, but what you said was right; she seems to only yell when we're acting stupid."

"Please hold still," The tailor tasked, trying to fit a tape measure around one of the Avatar's legs.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Sokka leaned back on his stool, "You see, Aang, girls have this thing where they just get way over emotional about little things." The tailor paused, and turned to stare at Sokka incredulously, but held his tongue.

"Huh?" Aang's face scrunched up in confusion. "What do you mean they get over emotional?"

Sokka sighed, "Think back to the war when we were travelling around with Katara. She'd blow up about the smallest most annoying little things; Toph's probably just the same." The tailor snorted in disdain, and turned away to gather his supplies.

"I don't think so," Aang seemed to hesitate, "Toph's a little more rational, she thinks things through and notices stuff we don't."

* * *

"He just made me so mad," Toph explained to the two women. The seamstress nodded in understanding, picking up her book to make a note about a design. Toph continued, "It wouldn't be the first time Twinkle Toes has made me angry, but not like this."

"What colors dear?" The seamstress questioned, turning to several bolts of cloth.

"Just stick to earth tones." Suki interceded for the earthbender. "Like angry how?"

"Like you said in the beginning; frustrated." Toph stepped off the raised block and took a seat across from Suki. "Sometimes, when I'm around him, I get this feeling that- it feels like-" The words failed Toph. "I want to blame it on it on this stupid goose chase, and just say running around the world is messing things up. It was fine before, we were a family, and now we're getting further way from family and closer to each other, sometimes it bothers me."

The seamstress settled on some colors and turned back to the two girls, "How do you feel about armor?"

"I don't," Toph replied bluntly, "Most the time I'm chasing an airbender, so I need to be light on my feet."

Suki leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands. "Why? Getting close shouldn't bother you."

"It doesn't," Toph answered quickly, then sighed, "but it does. Argh, sometimes when I'm around him I just feel like I've got an itch under the skin and I can't scratch it."

* * *

"She got so mad, but at the same time I felt like I had hurt her somehow. I wanted to understand, but she just pushed me away."

Sokka nodded in understanding, "Girls do that sometimes, especially when you don't get the hint fast enough."

Aang paused, staring down at the warrior, "They give hints?"

"Yeah," Sokka kicked his feet up and nodded, "But they're really subtle."

Aang sank to the floor, beating his forehead with the palm of his hand, "I just felt so useless, I don't think I've ever felt like that around Toph before. I mean, when you or Zuko have a problem, you talk about it and fix it. A hug solves everything for Katara. But, with Toph, I don't know how to help her, she won't even tell me what the problem is. And I wanted to, but all I could do was stand there like an idiot."

Tapping his fingers against his legs, Sokka frowned, staring quizzically at the Avatar. "Hey Aang, you and Toph aren't- you know, dating or anything?"

"What, no, of course not."

"Hmm, then I don't know what's the matter."

* * *

"Did you tell him you feel like your relationship is changing?" Toph shook her head no in response to the question. Suki frowned, "You should tell him about this changing thing."

"Are you crazy, fan girl?"

"No, communication is extremely important," she explained. "If you let it fester, it'll just eat away at you until one day you wake up and find yourself strangling him. Trust me, I speak from experience."

* * *

The wind was rattling against the window, shaking the frames. Toph heaved a sigh and rolled over on the mat. Now, in the silence of the room, while the rest of the world slept, her thoughts drifted back to the morning and her afternoon conversation with Suki. The possible scenarios trampled though her head, but always resulted in Toph looking like a fool. "Hey Twinkle Toes," she tested aloud, "We're changing and I'm feeling frustrated." The words hit the air, oddly loud.

"That just sounds stupid. Telling him is stupid." Smacking the pillow, Toph fluffed the abused item up and flipped, dropping her head onto the soft item. It was quiet, eerily quiet. Toph turned back over to her other side, and tugged the covers closer, her body curling into a tight ball. "Ugh, how can I not be asleep yet?" It took her a second to realize no one was there to answer.

A cricket chirped, the breeze floated around the room. Her eyes shut as she tugged the covers closer. It wasn't the same though; she missed Appa's snoring, Momo's random chattering, and the comforting feel of Aang's presence, always just a few feet way. "I'm getting way too soft."

The cricket chirped again. "Alright already, I give." Throwing back the covers, Toph climbed to her feet. "You don't want to let me sleep, then fine. I'll go some place I can." Reaching down she grabbed covers and pillow. Moving over to the door, she crept out into the hallway and slinked along the walls to the adjacent door. "Twinkle Toes?" She whispered into the dark room.

Aang glanced up, "Toph?"

Toph slipped into the room, closing the door behind her. It took only a few seconds to cross the room and toss her pillow next to Aang's, "Move over."

Aang complied with her request. "What wrong with the room now: stinky, cold, loud?" The comment earned him a hard punch.

"It's not my fault they keep giving me the stupid rooms." Curling into tight ball, Toph exhaled, heavy eyelids fluttering closed. "Much better in here." She whispered, her heart slowly falling into its regular pattern.

Pulling his own covers up, Aang leaned back against his pillow, hands coming up to rest behind his own head. "You're right, it is much better this way."

* * *

"_Look, Twinkle Toes," Toph sighed, "There's something I want to tell you." Crossing her arms across her chest, she stared in his general direction. "But first, why can't I feel your pants?"_

_Aang glanced down, oddly not too perturbed by the lack of pants, he shrugged, "I don't know, I thought you had them."_

"_Nope."_

"_That's alright," Katara called as she materialized beside them. "I've got them."_

"_What?" Aang yelped, leaping a foot into the air he bounced behind Toph, using the smaller earthbender as a shield._

_Toph frowned and held her hand out to the waterbender. "Look, sweetness, I hate to break this too you, but I'm the only one allowed to have Aang's pants. Hand them over."_

"_Well, that's not fair." A pout spread across Katara's lips as she shook her head, "I'm the one who freed the pants from the icicle, don't I get to hold them too?"_

"_Nope, I'm the licensed pant holder, so give them here." Toph thrust her hand out towards the pants, fingers waving in a come-hither manner._

_Katara turned to stare at Aang as he cowered behind Toph, "Aang, is this true?"_

Aang's eyes flashed open; his hear thudding violently in his chest as he took in the surroundings. He still lay on the mat in Suki's guest room. Toph snored away at his right; her legs tangled with his, her head pillowed on one of his arms. "This is getting to be too much of a habit." He murmured to himself.

The door flew open and Sokka poked his head in. "Hey Aang, breakfast is ready. Oh, good, Toph's here." Sokka turned to leave, then paused and turned back. "Wait, I thought you said there was nothing going on between you two."

"There isn't," Aang answered, gently slipping his arm out from underneath Toph's head.

Sokka raised an eyebrow, "Then why-"

"You think too much, Snoozles." Pushing herself up, Toph stretched out her arms and swung her feet off the mat. "Now, where's the meat?"

* * *

Toph stepped out of the tailor's shop and brushed an invisible piece of lint off her new clothes. "Finally, I feel human again."

"You look like one too," Aang grinned, following a step after her. Her outfit was essentially the same as before; he could see only a few modifications made to make the outfit a little more befitting of a growing woman. Suddenly realizing he was starring way too hard at places he shouldn't have been, Aang blushed and preoccupied himself with his own clothes.

"Come on, Twinkle Toes, we've got to load this stuff. I'm sure the Taskmaster is probably already throwing a fit about our detour." Turning away from her friend, Toph moved across the market square and around Suki's house to the waiting Appa.

Aang chased after her. Skidding to a halt beside Appa, he scratched at the sky bison's head in greeting. Aang focused his energy and airbent the saddle up to the sky bison's back; leaping up to secure it.

Back on the ground, Toph checked the remaining bags. "What's with you this morning, Twinkle Toes?" She questioned as she secured a bag and tossed it up to Aang.

"Nothing," Aang answered as he caught the bag.

"Sure," Toph tossed up another bag, "And Snoozles is a vegetarian."

"He is, since when?"

Rolling her eyes, Toph tossed up the last remaining bag. "No, Twinkle Toes, geez, you are off in La-La-Land this morning."

Aang leapt down to the ground, landing with an odd thump next to Toph. "All set, should we be getting off now?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, the earthbender leaned over and nudged Aang with her foot, "Forgetting something, aren't we?"

A frown stitched it way across Aang's face, tapping his forehead the Avatar mused for a long second before turning back to the shorter girl. "No, we've got all the supplies; Appa, Momo, my staff. Although, I guess since we don't know where Roku is sending us, I should probably-"

Toph's over dramatic sigh interrupted the Avatar's muttering, "How about Sugar Queen? That name ring a bell?"

The realization dawned quickly over Aang's face as he smacked his forehead, "Katara. How could I forget she was coming today?"

Toph shrugged in response. "You know, you've given her a long time to think about the whole liking thing. Now might be a good time to bring it up."

"Now?" Aang questioned hesitantly, "Here?"

"No, later and on the moon." Toph quipped, smacking the boy's shoulder. "Yes, now and here. Why not, if you wait too long, Twinkle, she'll either think you don't care or fall for some other weird angst-driven hero."

Aang turned away, sulking over to a nearby rock he collapsed in an emotional heap, "I don't know if I'm ready to do this, Toph. I wasn't expecting, I mean- I'm not prepared."

"Not prepared for what?" Toph moved over to take a seat next to him. "Not prepared to tell a girl you like her? Last I checked that shouldn't take any preparation."

"What if-" Aang gulped down a breath, "What if she says she doesn't like me, or she doesn't want to be with me in a romantic way?"

"You'll never know if you don't ask." Standing, Toph yanked the airbender to his feet. "And now's your chance," she continued, shoving her elbow into Aang's ribcage. Forcing herself to swallow the unexpected and sickening pang of grief that washed over her, Toph moved swiftly away. "Must have been a bad breakfast," She muttered, disappearing around the house.

Aang stood, rooted to his spot in confusion. Glancing at the earthbender's retreating back, he shrugged and turned to the house. His heart froze, panic gripping his heart.

"Aang," Moving swiftly down the house stairs, Katara quickly took the few steps between them and pulled him into a tight. "Aang, I'm so glad to see you."

"Katara," Aang whispered, pulling slightly back to stare at the girl. "Katara, you- I." The words would not form on his tongue.

"Where's Toph?"

"Uh, she'll be along in a second." Aang answered as he finally mastered the rudimentary element of speech.

"I missed you guys so much," Katara squeezed the boy tightly before stepping back to glance over him, "you've gotten taller." A soft smile spread across her lips as she gently took his hand. Tugging him back over to the rock, she took a seat and pulled him down next to her. "I couldn't believe my ears when Sokka said you guys were here. To think, we haven't seen each other in so long."

"In a year," Aang supplied, eyes avoiding those of the waterbenders. "I'm really glad to see you."

"Me too, I was beginning to think I would never see you guys again." Katara patted him warmly on the hand, eyes tracing his face. "But you should be done soon, right? And after that you can visit us more often."

Aang frowned, "Visit?"

"Yes," Katara answered, pulling her hand away she began to fidget with her braid. "All this time apart has really brought into focus just who you are, Aang. You're the Avatar, you'll always have to travel a lot, and you'll always have someone pulling you away. Working with Arnook has taught me so much about politics and governing, I see now what Roku meant when he said you're weren't prepared."

Aang kicked at the ground with his foot, peeking at the elder girl out of the corner of his eyes, "You do?"

"Yes, think about all the good you can do for others with the knowledge you're gaining. With the kind of influence you have on the world, you could do so much." A smile flirted across her face. "I'm kind of envious, I would love to be able to help all the people you do."

Turning in his seat to stare at her, Aang nodded enthusiastically, his confidence bolstering with her words. "Really?" Katara smiled sheepishly and nodded at his comment. Bracing his shoulder, the Avatar leaned in closer, "Katara, I have something I need to tell you."

She half frowned, half smiled in encouragement, "Yes?"

"I-like-you." The words tumbled out of his mouth like a barrage of rocks. Quickly recomposing himself, Aang continued, "From the first second you freed me from the ice, I knew I liked you more than anyone else in this world."

Katara's face suddenly went three shades paler and she stood, taking several steps away from him. "Aang, I-" She paused, taking a deep breath.

Jumping to his feet, Aang moved after her. "Everything I've done, I did for you," He stuttered, nervously gripping his head as he fought to explain himself. "Everyone kept telling me I had to let go, but I refused, I couldn't give you up. I- I don't know if you feel the same way about me." Aang's cheeks hued red, "And I understand we're still young, but we only rarely see each other now, and I- I just need to know if you could ever share my feelings."

The silence hung in the air, even Appa seemed to be holding his breath. Katara took another step away from the airbender, "Aang, I don't want to-"

"Aang," Suki shouted from the porch of the house. "Aang, one of the Northern Tribe members needs to speak to you."

Aang hesitated, glancing back over at Katara. "Now?" He questioned Suki.

"He says it's important."

"Alright," Aang sighed, moving slowly towards the porch. "I'll be right back, Katara, please just hold on for a second longer." The waterbender nodded her head silently, her back still turned to him.

The door slammed shut and Katara spun around, "What am I going to do- I-" She swallowed a gasping breath. "I can't- I ca-" Her hands were trembling as she paced before the sky bison. "I just need to think, I can do this."

"Hey Sugar Queen," The voice startled Katara as she spun around to see Toph coming back around the house, "What's with all the shouting? I leave you two to-"

Katara threw her arms around the earthbender, squeezing the other girl tightly, "Toph, I'm so glad to see you."

The force thrown behind the hug startled Toph. Gently returning the waterbender's embrace, Toph extracted herself from the iron grip. "Hold it there, Sweetness, you're strangling me."

"Sorry," Laughing nervously, Katara pulled away and returned to her previous pacing, "I'm just so glad to see you guys."

"Really?" Toph raised an eyebrow wearily as she followed in the waterbender's footsteps, "Because you're giving off terrified vibes. Did I just miss the giant serpent-bull?"

"No," Katara abruptly stopped and slouched back down onto the rock. "It's complicated."

"What's complicated about it?" Toph questioned, the emotions in her voice high as she quickly put two and two together. "It shouldn't be complicated."

"It is," Katara insisted, burying her face in her hands, "I'm complicated, I'm confused; not frightened. I just- I don't know what I want." A door slammed, startling Katara. Glancing up she watched as Aang, Sokka, and Suki moved away from the house, hurriedly chatting in hushed tones and motioning. "What's going on?"

Aang grimaced, moving forward he placed a hand on Toph's shoulder, "There's a report of some pirates raiding the smaller northern water villages. Arnook's forces can't capture them and he's urgently pleading for our help."

"I was wondering why Taskmaster Roku hadn't snapped his fingers yet." Toph smirked, shrugging off Aang's hand she moved towards the sky bison, "Well, let's get going now. Arnook doesn't use the words 'urgently' and 'pleading' without good cause."

A smile cracked Aang's distressed face, "I thought you said you'd never step foot on that icicle again."

"You're not leaving me behind, Twinkle Toes, so stop trying to."Turing back around Toph embraced Sokka and Suki, leaving Aang with Katara for a quiet second.

The waterbender fidgeted nervously as she stared down at her younger friend, "Aang, I'm sorry. I want to tell you-"

"It's alright, Katara, I understand." Aang glanced down at the dirt and shuffled his feet, "I guess this is just like Ember Island, not the right time."

Katara winced, her hand automatically reaching out to land softly on Aang's shoulder. "I-"

"Let's go, Twinkle, we need to stop somewhere and stock up on fur. I don't want frozen toes this time around."

"Sorry, Katara," Aang hesitated glancing back at Appa, then over to the waiting Toph. Reaching over he pulled Katara into a brief hug, then darted over to Appa, helping Toph up before settling himself on the sky bison's head.

Sokka stepped forward, grinning up at the two aboard Appa, "Next time you come visiting, remember to take a bath first." Appa launched into the air, ascending into the clouds as he turned north. The spots of blue and green faded out of sight, leaving Aang and Toph alone once again.

High above the ground troubles didn't melt away. Aang did his best to focus on his job steering, trying to stop his mind from replaying the events of the past forty-eight hours. Toph gingerly slid down to his side, yelping in fear as she teetered close to the edge before settling next to him. "What happened?" She chose to leave out the baffled and confused Katara for her own reasons, deciding the opposite story might be a better version than the one she'd heard implied down on earth.

"Nothing," Aang answered a little too quickly. "We were interrupted before she could answer."

"Why so down then?"

Aang's frustration sounded clearly in his voice as he hurriedly explained, "It wasn't right, I did it all wrong."

"There's no such thing as a bad confession, Twinkle."

A loud frustrated breath seemed to contradict her words. "No, this was wrong, Toph."

The earthbender decided to let the conversation go as she leaned back against Appa's warm fur. Suki's conversation, forgotten only a few minutes ago, popped back into her head. With Katara's unconfirmed denial hanging in the air, the once perfectly plotted lifeline seemed to have unraveled to the very core. "What the hell-" Sitting back up she turned in his direction, "Twinkle Toes, we're changing."

Aang smirked, gently taking her hand in his. "I know."

* * *

This was much longer than it was supposed to be, and it pictured much better in my head, so I hope it translated well. Katara wasn't supposed to show up for another two chapters, but she just waltzed in unexpectedly, and there wasn't supposed to be a fight or a pants dream. All in all, it either works or it doesn't. Expect a shorter entry next time around.

Next chapter: More change as Zuko runs into some old friends.


	7. When Silence Speaks

**Leaving Things Behind Us by Lady Cleo**

**Chapter 7 – When Silence Speaks.**

**The Time:** One year and three months since Aang's departure.

**The Place: **Fire Nation.

* * *

The small stocky man rushed down the hall; his chubby legs carrying him as fast as decorum would allow. He glanced eagerly over his shoulder every few seconds and waved excitedly at passing servants. "Make way, make way."

"What is it Master Yi Zing," A young guard questioned.

"Not now, not now," Master Yi Zing answered without pause. Quickly clambering up a pair of stairs he paused at a small nondescript door and took a deep breath to calm himself. Opening the door, he slipped through into the opulence of the throne room.

The room was uncommonly full for the day; crowded with both commoners and nobles alike, all listening intently to the court's business. Master Yi Zing paid little heed to the overdressed nobles, or the smell of the commoners. Instead, he wormed his way through the crowds, using his stocky weight to muscle past a few over eager young women. Pushing forward through the crowd, he slipped into the open and over to the dais.

Fire Lord Zuko was listening intently to two farmers arguing over a land dispute. His lean fingers tapped along the chair arm, the only sign of his impatience with the two squabbling men.

Master Yi Zing bowed low, waiting nervously for Zuko to notice him.

"Your arguing is getting you nowhere." Zuko declared, watching the two farmers. "I need time to debate this matter, until then I suggest you coexist in some semblance of harmony. Peace will serve you better than war." Both of the men bowed and backed into the crowd, silently resuming their squabbling on the sidelines. Zuko motioned for Master Yi Zing to approach.

"Sire, tremendous news."

Zuko sat up a little straighter as he examined the stocky man, "Yes?"

"Sire, it's the Avatar."

"The Avatar?" Zuko glanced over the crowd courtroom, "Where?"

"In the city, sire," Master Yi Zing bounced eagerly in his place, making motions towards the unseen city beyond palace walls. "He asked one of the guards to inform you of his arrival."

"Where in the city?"

* * *

Zuko pushed open the iron gait of the Orphanage and stepped inside the bustling courtyard. Behind him followed Sgt. Bi Zhu, his only escort. Scanning quickly over the area, Zuko caught sight of the reason for his visit immediately. It was hard to miss the large sky bison and equally hard to miss the tall slender young man with shaved head and blue arrow. Even from a distance, Zuko could tell Aang had grown more than a couple of inches, to the point of almost rivaling Zuko in height. On top of the added height, Aang's physique had toned, showing off the hard months of labor.

A gaggle of squirming children surrounded Aang. They eagerly pawed at the airbender as he alternatively tossed air balls, shot some flames into the sky, and molded clay models for the children. One of the orphans had managed to catch Momo and was currently squeezing the lemur to death. Two others were playing with Aang's staff, pretending to battle it out.

Seeing that his first find was busy, Zuko scanned to the right and caught sight of his other objective. Toph stood near the building with hands on hips, scowling at a construction worker. She too had changed, though not in the same manner. She'd only gained maybe an inch or two in height, making her the shortest of the group. Her figure however had altered. Soft curves had replaced the girlish straight lines of her youth. At Toph's side, two lone orphans stood; one clinging to her leg as the other attempted to emulate her, nodding angrily at the worker Toph addressed. "The support should go here, not over there."

"Look lady," The construction worker answered back, thumping his fist on the scroll he held, "The paper says it's got to go here, so I'm putting it here."

"And I'm trying to tell you, if you want this addition to last you've got to put it there." Reaching down, Toph grabbed the small child clinging to her and tucked the kid under her arm like a loaf of bread. She crossed ten paces over and stamped a spot, her clone orphan following and repeating the action. "This is too soft, it won't hold the weight."

"And I'm telling you, it will, lady."

Toph growled low in her throat and turned back to the construction worker, orphan still tucked under her arm. "Where's management?"

"That would be me," Zuko answered as he approached the group. "Place it where Lady Toph commands, I think we can trust an earthbender on this matter."

"Yes, sire." The construction worker bowed and turned, moving back to his work with only a slight scowl at the smaller girl.

Zuko turned back to Sgt. Bi Zhu, "Go and see if you can get a tally on supplies needed." Bi Zhu bowed and promptly vanished into the mess of construction, leaving the two friends alone with orphans. "Nice of you to drop by," he smiled at the smaller girl. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten about the Fire Nation."

"Forget you, Sparky? I don't think that's possible." Realizing she was still totting an orphan around, Toph gingerly set the kid down before promptly embracing the taller Fire Lord in a fierce hug, "Glad to see you're surviving."

Zuko smirked, ruffling her hair slightly as he gazed down at the shorter girl, "What brings you here? The last I heard you were still running around the Earth Kingdom, but that has to have been at least three months ago."

Toph pulled back from him and titled her head, "We should have stopped by sooner, but we kept getting waylaid by some of the smaller tasks." The smaller orphan resumed her grip on Toph's leg, prompting the earthbender to pry the kid off again. "It doesn't help that you seem to be managing the place. You want us around some more, screw up some things and we'll get an invite to fix them. You'd be surprised how often the Bear-lover sends out some urgent plea for help."

"In all fairness the Earth Kingdom is twice the size of mine."

"Yeah," Toph conceded, "But he's got the Dai Li doing half his work now that he's in control of them. You'd think he'd manage to get the act together."

The two turned back to survey the on-going construction. The old war-torn orphanage was getting a serous makeover, complete with added additions. Zuko watched it all with a trained eye, before turning back to his younger friend, "How's it going here?"

"Fine, if you don't count all your construction workers getting in the way. I've rebuilt enough structures over the past two years to know what I'm talking about. But, all they see is some bossy kid who hangs around with the Avatar." Toph sighed, shaking her head. "And Twinkle's not being much help right now."

Zuko glanced back over to the Airbender. Aang had grabbed a kid and was giving her a piggyback ride, three or four of the orphans chasing after him. "I'd say he was doing a good job distracting the kids."

"It helps that he has the maturity of a kid." Toph's ears suddenly perked up and she spun away, "No, no, no! You're setting those bricks wrong." Turning she moved off to yell at another worker, the two orphans in toe behind her.

Aang skidded to a halt next to Zuko, bending over to catch his breath. "Toph's gotten really good at this rebuilding stuff, better then me," He explained, the little girl on his back clapping happily. Reaching over Aang pulled the child down, shooing his mass of followers back over to the sky bison. Free of his burden, Aang threw his arms around the Fire Lord, squeezing him in a brief hug before pulling back. "Good to see you."

"Likewise, I wasn't expecting to see you for another year or so. Avatar Roku seems to keep you busy." The two young men turned away from the construction to watch as the children piled around Appa.

"Roku wants us to keep up appearance in all the Courts, but you don't seem to need us, so it's hard to sneak in a visit." Aang explained, "We were heading to Ember Island to search for some ancient ruins, so it was easy to take a long detour over here."

"I've never heard of any ruins on Ember Island." Zuko frowned, rubbing his finger across his chin.

"Yeah, me neither." Aang heaved a giant sigh, shoulders dropping, "I've got a feeling this one's going to take us forever."

A brief nod from Zuko agreed with the notion. "How long are you staying in town?"

"Two or three days at most." Aang shrugged, "We don't seem to get to stay anywhere for longer. He fell silent for several seconds before speaking softly, "We ran into Katara a few months ago."

Zuko turned slightly to stare at the younger man, "And?"

"It's complicated," Aang gulped down a breath. "Better saved for later."

The action invoked a deeper frown from Zuko. Crossing his arms over his chest, he contemplated the younger man. Too often Zuko had seen court relationship split over indecision; and the Aang-Katara situation was certainly screaming of indecision. Something was bound to give sooner rather than later. "Since you're here, you might as well attend tonight's feast."

"Feast, what feast?"

* * *

"What a lovely night," The small Lady bowed deeply to Zuko. Zuko nodded gravely to the woman, bowing his head in acknowledgement before watching her scuttle off into the room. Tugging at his robes, Zuko turned to the next entering guest. The dinning room was quickly filling up with invited guests.

Master Yi Zing had certainly put the palace's best foot forward. The opulent dinning room was practically glistening. Long flowing ribbons of orange and yellow hung from the marble columns, soft white lanterns placed to give a charming moonlight glow to the room. The long table had lost its usual fiery red tablecloth and discovered a sparkling gold one, accented by the silver plates and decorative centerpieces of white flowers.

Another couple stepped into the room and Zuko turned to greet them, only to blink his eyes in a double-take. Aang stood before him dressed in a simple but elegant outfit. The Avatar had exchanged his usual outfit for brown pants and boots with a yellow shirt and high collared ornate orange vest. Both vest and boots had intricate gold embroidery along the edges. The outfit managed to both be uniquely air nomad and suitable for the arrogant higher classes of nobility.

The attention stealer, however, was on Aang's arm. Toph stood next to the airbender dressed in a white and green hanbok with a similar high collar, a sheer green wrap hanging off her arms. Like Aang's, her outfit was accented with intricate gold embroidery across the bodice, bust, and neckline. Her hair was up in the usual bun, the unruly bangs pulled back and neatly combed. A large white lotus blossom and gold pins turned the simple hairdo to elegant, giving her a slightly more sophisticated look.

Zuko greeted both of them with a slight bow. "I see someone managed to clean you two up."

"You can thank Twinkle Toes and the Bear-lover for this get up." Toph snorted. She looked uncommonly short hanging on Aang's arm, but there was something distinctly charming about the pair standing together.

Zuko glanced over at Aang. Aang shrugged and proceeded to explain, "It all started when I didn't want to sit enthroned, but Kuei wanted me to. I suggested Toph sit. That way it would look like I'm being a proper gentleman and Kuei wouldn't lose face when I refuse the chair. Toph didn't want to sit either, but I said she should sit since she's the greatest earthbending master alive and my former Sifu."

Toph pulled her arm away from Aang, then shoved it in his ribcage, "I reject the term 'former Sifu', Twinkle Toes."

A roll of his eyes dismissed the comment without provoking Toph, "But Kuei threw in a term. If I'm to stand and Toph's to sit; then both of us have to be on time and cleaned up."

For some reason, Toph had slipped her arm back through Aang's. She sighed and turned her head away from the pair, "Now every time we have to show up in Ba Sing Se, stupid city, we have to be pristine and pretty. No healthy layer of dirt or anything." Toph tapped her free arm against her leg, shaking her head at the injustice of it all.

Zuko glanced between the two of them, "Why would that affect your appearance here?"

"Well, I didn't think it would, or should." Toph explained, "But we stopped in Omashu and Bumi, the crazy bat he is, threw a fit when we weren't all pretty for him. This started a cascade affect with other city courts."

Across the room, Master Zi Ying rang the dinner bell and the guests began to make their way to the elaborate table. The three friends followed them, Aang continuing his explanation as they crossed the room, "Finally, Iroh made a comment that, since we were all dressed up for the Earth Kings, we couldn't just storm into any other court dressed like we usually do. He claimed it would look like we were 'snubbing' them." Aang paused at the table, pulling's Toph's chair out first.

Toph slipped around the seat, about to sit, when Aang caught her elbow, preventing the action. "Oh, right we have to wait for his Royal Sparky-ness to sit." Zuko moved swiftly to take his own seat, motioning for the long rows of guests to follow his example. Once seated, Toph continued, "I don't have any problem with snubbing, but Twinkles Toes here freaked."

"If I show preference-" Aang began, waving away a servant attempting to offer him wine.

Toph shook her head in dismissal at the airbender, gladly accepting the glass of wine. "Yeah, yeah, I don't need the whole story again. So, since Mr. Pacifist doesn't like to offend anyone, here we are all pristine and pretty."

Zuko smirked, briefly nodding at a servant to begin the dinner, "I can't say I disagree with the alterations, you look like court nobles should. You smell like them too."

"Who are you calling stinky, Sparky?"

The Fire Lord ignored the statement and continued, "Where did you find the funding?"

"I sent to mommy dearest and pulled the whole. 'I need to be pretty for court' and she eagerly sprang for some new outfits." Toph explained as a servant set the first course before her. "Tell me this has meat in it, Sparky."

"Yours does," Zuko assured and then turned to the fidgeting airbender, "Yours doesn't."

"Sire," Zuko glanced to his left, two court nobles occupied the seats there. Lord Oh Ha and his younger sister Lady Oh Ni were from an older family, and though they had claimed allegiance, they had done little in the past year to warrant favor with the new throne. "I can't tell you how delighted we were to be placed at your left." Lady Oh Ni chirped accepting a glass of wine form a servant.

Zuko bowed his head in greeting, "Lord Oh Ha, Lady Oh Ni, I don't believe you've been introduced to Avatar Aang or Lady Bei Fong."

Lady Oh Ni whipped out an elaborate fan, bowing her head demurely as she smiled at the two while Lord Oh Ha nodded briskly. Aang sheepishly waved at the pair, while Toph summarily dismissed them both and turned to her right to strike up a conversation with Advisor Yuan.

"We were delighted to learn of your arrival, Avatar Aang," Lady Oh Ni began, ignoring her plate as her finger trailed along the rim of her own wine glass. "I understand you have been travelling."

"Yes," Aang answered cheerfully. "We've just returned from Gaipan. We helped rebuild the dam that was destroyed a couple years ago."

"I heard you travel with an earthbender," Oh Ha began, ignoring his sister as he glanced over at the pair of them. "Would Lady Bei Fong be this earthbender?"

Aang shifted uncomfortably, exchanging a brief glance with Zuko. "Yes."

"Oh," Oh Ni titled her head, examining the blind girl. "She's very lovely. Tell me, how does your young lady feel about you travelling with the earthbender?"

Aang's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion and he scratched at his temple, glancing between the Lady and Toph. "My young lady?"

"Forgive me," Oh Ni smirked, "I must be mistaken. I understood you had relations with another young lady."

Oh Ha masked a snort behind his glass of wine and turned his attention to the Fire Lord. "We were sorry to hear of the departure of Lady Mai, Fire Lord Zuko. She's from an ancient and noble family; her presence did your court great justice."

"Mai left?" Aang questioned, taking another spoonful of his plate he glanced between Oh Ha and Zuko with a curious expression.

A lump went down Zuko's throat as he shifted in his seat. "She's returned to her family."

"With Lady Mai gone," Oh Ha mused aloud as the servants converged, picking up the first course plates and laying down the second, "perhaps the young blue lass will return. She seemed like a steady head, for one of ignoble decent." The lord took another swig of his glass.

"Does he mean Katara?" Aang questioned. Zuko groaned.

Oh Ni's head whipped back to the Avatar. "Yes, Lady Katara, she's the one that's said to be your lover." Aang twitched in his seat uncomfortably. He opened his mouth to comment but suddenly found words failed him.

Toph turned to the conversation, positively growling, "In the Earth Kingdom, it's considered rude to discuss rumors during the dinner. I guess Fire Nation etiquette isn't up to standard."

Oh Ni sputtered in shock for a second. A tap of her fan seemed to help the young woman regain her composure. "Surely it's not considered rude to try and dispel such rumors. My intent was to preserve a young lady's honor."

"And what's wrong with being associated with the Avatar?" Toph demanded a hand fisting under the table.

"Nothing," Zuko cut in. "Surely Lady Oh Ni would be honored to be associated with the Avatar."

"Yes, yes, of course." Oh Ni smiled coyly. "I only fear for the young lady in question. Surely she should not be associated with both Avatar and Fire Lord Zuko." Aang's eyes went wide, his head whipping over to Zuko.

The Fire Lord in question was turning red with anger. "Would you care to elaborate?"

Oh Ni blushed, "It is not my place-"

"I suggest you make it your place." A spark of flame flashed through Zuko's eyes as he fought to control the anger radiating off him.

The fan tapped nervously on the table as the Lady shifted uncomfortably. "It is, of course, only gossip, silly girls with nothing better to do." She glanced down the table for an escape and finding none cautiously continued, "With Lady Mai's departure and the attention paid to Lady Katara, a few have suggested the young lady is associated with the Fire Lord in a more personal way." Oh Ni swallowed nervously.

Aang jumped to his feet, "That's preposterous!" The table suddenly went quiet, all eyes turning down to stare at the blushing and stuttering airbender. "Uh, sorry."

Toph yanked him back down, "You kind of overdid it there, Twinkle Toes."

"Needless to say," Zuko declared quietly from his place, "You will find no truth to the rumor." Despite his word, Zuko found his stomach twisting into knots at the idea. The idea of Katara at his side sent his heart into fits. He quickly shook off the thought.

Aang glanced over at the Fire Lord and smiled slightly, trying to quell his own nervous stomach. "It's a rumor, Zuko, and I know nothing's going on between you and Katara. It just shocked me that they would be talking about you two like that."

"Nah, that's normal." Toph piped up. "It's when the court's not gossiping that you need to be worried." Sensing the need to divert the conversation, Toph causally turned to the airbender beside her, "Did you tell him about the pants dream?"

Aang blushed red, stuttering frantically, "Uh, no, and I don't think- not in public-"

"Pants dream?" Zuko questioned, latching onto the change in subject.

"Yeah," Toph answered, "Right before the day of the Black Sun, Twinkle kept having really weird dreams where he would face Ozai without pants on." Aang looked like he'd rather been reliving his battle with Ozai, doing anything beside having this conversation. "Well, lately he's been having dreams where he keeps giving me his pants."

Zuko fought keep his laughter in as he turned to the Avatar, "Giving your pants to Toph?"

It was physically impossible for Aang to turn a deeper shade of red, "Uh, yeah, but that's not all." He defended. "It's not just me giving my pants to Toph; it's Toph and Katara arguing over who gets to keep my pants, and its not just pants, sometimes it's my shirt." Unable to control himself, Zuko burst out laughing, doubling over as Aang cringed. "It's not funny."

Zuko righted himself, struggling to regain his composure, "I think this is serious. Obviously Aang values his pants very much."

"Oh come on," Aang whined, shrinking down into his chair, "This is important."

"Relax, Twinkle Toes," Toph snorted, "Of course it's important. But you have to admit, it's kind of funny."

Zuko nodded in agreement and turned to the airbender with the utmost serious expression, "Is it affecting your sleep?"

"No," Aang admitted with a shrug. "It's just kind of weird."

"Then I wouldn't be too worried," Zuko smiled, "Just as long as you still wake up with your pants on."

* * *

Guests long gone, Zuko pushed open the doors and stepped into the elaborate guest room. After the conversation at dinner and this morning's causal comments, Zuko had little doubt that Aang needed to talk. And though not the best at dispensing advice, when it came to the Avatar, Zuko felt a calling as his former Sifu to give what advice he could.

At first glance, the room appeared unoccupied, but a second glance located its lone occupant standing out on the open balcony. Bracing his shoulders, Zuko stepped out into the night air. Aang seemed far off in thought, barely recognizing the presence of the Fire Lord. Overhead the stars were shinning brightly beside a giant moon. The city seemed to glow under the white light, but Zuko paid little head to the sky or city as he stopped beside the troubled younger man. "What happened between you and Katara?"

"Huh?"

"You were tense when Lady Oh Ni mentioned Katara." Zuko turned his head away from the Avatar. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened, it's me. I'm confused." Aang bowed his head, kicking his foot against the balcony rail. Below him he watched the city settle down for the night. "I shouldn't still be confused. I thought I had this worked out, I thought I understood. Instead I feel lost, should I feel lost?"

Zuko tensed up, confused by the younger man's words, "I don't know."

"I told Katara how I felt, and I've only gotten silence as an answer." Aang moved his hand up to rest beneath his head, his gaze lifting to sky. "Katara-"Aang began, and then paused. "I love her, don't I- I mean, how do you know its love?"

Relaxing slightly, Zuko shrugged, "I think you're asking the wrong person."

"But I don't have anyone to talk to about this, and it's driving me crazy." Aang answered, glancing over at the Fore Lord with pleading eyes.

Zuko frowned, deciding to divert the conversation slightly. "You once told me Guru Pathik wanted you to let go of your earthly attachments, and Katara was considered an earthly attachment."

A frustrated sigh slipped past Aang's lips and he buried his face in his hands. "I couldn't let go of her." Zuko remained silent, prompting Aang to continue, "But, Katara was part of the driving force behind my defeat of Ozai. Maybe not the only reason; I did it to right my wrongs, I did it to restore balance, and I did it for my friends who believed in me, to end the destruction. But the thought of Katara was always there, always pushing me to go further and faster."

Aang sighed, his face burying in his hands, "Sometimes I'm sure she's going to write and tell me she loves me, and sometimes I think I already have my answer." Zuko glanced quizzically at Aang. "Gyatso told me silence speaks louder than words. Maybe Katara is trying to tell me something with her silence."

Zuko could feel the conversation going nowhere and let silence settle over them as he fought to find the right words, "Perhaps you should try to let her go for a while. Maybe you've been a little too focused on Katara, if you let go of the earthly attachment to her, you might find that you understand your relationship better."

The answer didn't seem to satisfy Aang, his head whipping around to Zuko. "I know I love her, I have to love her, isn't that enough?"

"Sometimes- no." Zuko watched the younger man's shoulder sink in disappointment.

"It's frustrating." Aang exhaled deeply and kicked at the balcony railing. "I don't understand what I have with Katara." A groan seemed to lodge itself in Aang's throat, "Why is this so difficult? It's not supposed to be, is it?"

A brief flash of Mai's face filtered through Zuko's head, "Relationships take time and work, Aang, and both parties have to be willing participants." Zuko's gut twisted in pain, but the Fire Lord shook the feeling off. "These tasks are supposed to be about balance; forget about your attachment to Katara for a while and find the balance you need. I think only then will you be able to understand love and what it is." Aang made a disgruntled noise, but Zuko continued. "Trust me."

"Hey," Toph's loud voice barked as the shorter girl stepped out onto the balcony with a scowl. "What did I tell you about getting advice from Mr. Emotionally Closed Hot Pants?" She questioned, silk covered arms crossing over her chest.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "Mr. Emotionally Closed Hot Pants? I think I prefer Sifu Hotman." A brief smile crossed his face. Patting Aang on the shoulder, Zuko moved off the balcony, pausing only to let his hand fall on Toph's shoulder in a parting gesture, before crossing the guest room and stepping into the hall, shutting the doors behind him.

Moving restlessly down the halls, the Fire Lord steered clear of his own bedroom, instead opting to retire to his office. Pushing the office doors open, Zuko stepped into the cold dark room, closing the doors firmly behind him. The moonlight cast a glow through the room, illuminating the office just enough for Zuko to navigate to his desk and collapse into the chair.

In the silence of the room, Zuko corralled the jumble of thoughts racing through his head. He'd seen Katara's conflict of emotions long ago, and as much as it pained him to see Aang suffering, he'd always felt they might be better off without each other.

Zuko snorted in disdain at himself. "I shouldn't be the one judging."

Leaning forward, he pulled open one of the desk draws, drawing a scroll from the dark recesses. Zuko stood and crossed the room, lighting a blazing fire in the empty fireplace. Standing before the dancing flames, he unraveled the scroll, revealing Mai's near script.

'_Relationships take two willing participants'_ the words glared up at him, mocking the Fire Lord. "Sometimes love isn't enough." He tossed the scroll onto the flames and watched as it disintegrated into ash. A long forgotten memory seemed triggered by the words, pulling to the forefront of his mind as he turned away from the fire.

_Zuko stepped into the room, the stench of death and blood filling his nose as he glanced down the rows of wounded. The rest of the world was celebrating their victory, Aang and Toph were off rebuilding, and Sokka and Suki were planning, leaving only one member missing. Zuko spotted a flash of blue and moved quietly over. The waterbender didn't break her concentration, her skillful hands hovering over the wounded man's chest._

"_You need to rest."_

_An eyelid peeked open for a second. "I can rest later," Katara answered back stiffly. She shifted her hands slightly and took a deep breath. Drawing her hands back slowly, she glanced over her patient, "You'll be fine, just rest." The man moaned back in response. Katara smiled gently and pushed herself up to move to the next patient. Her steps suddenly faltered._

_Zuko reacted quickly, catching the slightly smaller girl before she tumbled to the ground. "You won't help anyone if you pass out."_

_Katara pushed back against him, using the solid form he offered to support herself. "I can't sleep when I could be saving lives." Regaining her composure, she started to move away._

_Zuko caught her arm, pulling her to a stop. "You're not the only one helping, there are others here doing just as much." The waterbender faltered, the mental conflict showing on her face. Across the room, a young woman cried out, throwing herself on the body of a wounded man. Katara started towards the woman, but Zuko's grip kept her in place. She turned back to Zuko and found the Fire Lord shaking his head. "It's too late for him."_

"_How do you know?" Katara demanded, "I can help."_

"_Don't you think I've seen enough war to know when death strikes?" His words made the waterbender freeze. Zuko glanced back at the sobbing woman, "Sometimes everything we do is not enough, sometimes even love isn't enough."_

_Katara's head whipped up, her eyes narrowing, "You're right, sometimes love isn't enough, not when it's selfish, and not when it consumes us." She snapped angrily. "But, sometimes when you love, it's just the right thing. Sometimes love isn't stopped by hate, or fear, or even by death." Yanking her arm out of his grip, Katara moved briskly down the room to the wounded man._

Zuko felt his entire body drain of energy and he backed away from the fire, sinking into the nearest chair. His face dropped into his hands. His love of Mai wasn't strong enough to fight through all the obstacles before them. It was a relationship riddled with miscommunication, fear, and anger from the beginning, doomed from day one according to Katara. A laugh boiled in Zuko's chest, slowly leaking out until he found himself laughing like a mad man in the silence of his office. He could only recall one instance when love had conquered fear, hatred, and anger; one memory, of a time when he had forgotten himself and sacrificed everything he had to save one friend.

"Agni Kai."

* * *

This chapter was a pain in the ass from title to end! I can't tell you how often I thought of just chopping it off the block. Extreme thanks cannot cover my gratitude to those that have reviewed.

Next Chapter – A task requires Aang to make an ultimate sacrifice to save himself from loss.


	8. Task Twenty One

**Leaving Things Behind Us by Lady Cleo**

**Chapter 8 - Task Twenty-One**

**The Time: **One year and five months since Aang's departure.

**The Place**: Somewhere South of Omashu.

* * *

"_You don't understand sacrifice." _

_Aang's head whipped up to stare at the elder man. "What do you mean, Master Roku?"_

_Pressing his palms together, the former Avatar frowned. "To sacrifice means to give up something valued. Tell me, Aang, have you sacrificed?"_

_Aang exhaled, focusing his mind as a flood of memories invaded his thoughts, "Yes."_

_The thin drawn lips of Roku pressed together. "An Avatar must understand the limits of his sacrifices, what he can do and what he can't do. He must ask himself whether it is a personal sacrifice or if it will serve the greater good of the world. There are lines that separate our deeds from personal and worldly, but lines can blur and sometimes we act solely on our own desires. In my lifetime, I often distorted personal and worldly desires." A wave of his hand produced a blue thread and an orange thread. "You once let your own desires stand in your way."_

_Aang blushed. "I don't understand why it's wrong for us to act on our own desires. Don't we deserve a measure of happiness?"_

"_Of course we do, but the key is balance," Roku explained. Aang furrowed his forehead, trying to grasp the meaning of the conversation. "You have been blessed, often when sacrifice was demanded, fate intervened. As you step out of youth there will be fewer interventions and harder choices." _

"_This task I send you on is no light one. A serpent-bull kills with one swipe of his venomous horns. There is no cure for his poison." The former avatar stared down at his protégé, his tone hard and comfortless. "South of Omashu a serpent-bull is loose, his spirit tainted by dark matter. You must either kill him or remove the horns."_

_Aang hesitated, "I understand." _

"_There is no easy solution to this problem." The blue thread vanished and Roku waved his hand again, this time producing a green thread. "I foresee a change in the threads. Be on your guard, Aang, the world will test your balance." Roku placed the orange thread next to the green, "I fear you will be asked to make a sacrifice." _

* * *

Aang leapt. From his palms a blast of air shot across the ravaged clearing at the towering, raging bull with serpent eyes. The creature bellowed, spilt tail flicking as he dug massive cloven hooves in the dirt.

On the ground Toph took a sharp breath, her stance ridged. The bull lunged forward. A massive wall of earth shot up, blocking the creature. Aang soared through the air, pulling a giant loop of water from the river. The bull lunged forward again, all his weight thrown against the earthen wall. The water rope sailed wide. Aang grabbed another lope of water, shooting it out after the first. One after the other, the rings of water flew about the creature's head. "Now, Toph."

The wall before Toph broke down. The creature stumbled, startled. Toph pulled back and shifted forward; a massive wave of earth launched forward. Like a creeping vine, the earth bent up around the struggling bull, locking his feet in place.

"Cut them now, Twinkle Toes."

Aang loosened the water rope and yanked from the water again; a water blade slicing towards the snorting creature's head. The bull sensed the slack and wrenched hard, the force of the motion knocking Aang into the trees. Toph winced and tightened her grip, her energy focused on keeping the creature locked in. Pulling from within herself she pushed at the earth again and again. The creeping tendrils of earth working slowly up along the bull's body.

The bull snorted in panic, tossing his head back and baying in anger. He surged forward. The horned head rocked violently, nostrils flaring. Fighting with all his strength as he tried to pull himself from the ground. The dirt cracked. Toph leapt back the earth shackles disintegrated as the lithe earthbender rolled for cover. The head swung for her, Toph gasped, flinching as the horn swiped into her side.

A burst of flame shot through the air. The silt eyes turned away and the bull leapt towards Aang, head lowering as he charged. Leaping back to her feet, Toph sent off a volley of boulders towards the now free and rampaging creature. The strike startled the creature, knocking him to the ground for only a second before the massive seething beast was back on his feet.

Aang pulled his arms back, building up a massive surge of water behind him he thrust it forward. The bull turned, charging head first into the bushes as the wave of water crashed after him. Silence settled over the ravaged clearing, Aang dropped his hands to his knees and took a deep breath. "We're going to have to rethink the plan," he sighed and turned back to Toph. The earthbender nodded in agreement and took a step towards him. She stumbled abruptly, catching herself. "Toph?"

"I'm fine, Twinkle Toes," she began, her breathing a little shallower than normal. "He just swiped my side." Removing her hand she revealed a small slit on her right side, the shirt torn, but the skin just barely broken.

All the color drained from Aang's face, "The horns are poisonous." Shooting over to the earthbender, Aang wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I don't need to hear it again, Twinkle," Toph interrupted, shrugging his arm off. "It was just a little swipe." The earthbender turned away from Aang and took a step. Her right knee caved beneath her, forcing Aang to leap forward to catch her. "Geez, I'm fine Twinkle Toes, just a little dizzy."

"You don't look fine," Aang murmured, his hand coming up to press against her forehead. He glanced down at the wound again, a small bruise had formed around the slit in the skin. "We need to get you to a healer." Keeping an arm around her waist to help support the pale girl, Aang started forward.

Toph took no more than a step. Knees collapsing she fell against him. "Yeah, no, not walking anywhere, Twinkle," she tried to kid then took a nervous deep breath, her hands hanging desperately onto him for stability. "Just give me a minute to get my balance."

"Alright," Aang answered as he glanced back down at the wound, a hand lifting to push the shirt away. The bruise had grown five times its original size, encompassing her entire right side. Heart pounding in his chest, Aang swept the startled Toph off her feet.

"What do you think you're doing, Twinkle?" Ignoring her comment he raced for the river, mind frantically trying to work. Her skin already felt clammy, beads of sweat pouring down her forehead. "Really, Twinkle, I'm fine," Toph assured, her voice an octave lower than normal, her grip on him tightening. "Do I need to define dizzy for you?"

Leaping over a log, Aang landed on the banks of the river and splashed down into the currents. "I need to clear your system," he explained as he carefully submerged her lower half. Stomach twisting in sheer panic, he ran his hands over her body.

Toph was trembling uncontrollably, hands fisted onto him. "You can't water heal," she began. Her nails dug into his skin, her back arching as a violent cough interrupted her words. Regaining control of her lungs, Toph leaned her head back, breathing raggedly as she conceded, "Okay, not feeling so good now."

Focusing all his energy on the small girl, Aang closed his eyes and tried to picture her chi, her energy, the flow of her blood. It took a second for the picture to form in his head, but form it did. Running his hands carefully over her, he worked his way through her system and towards the wound. Her aura was a diminished green, almost sickly, and the feel of it was heavy and weighted. He carefully moved his hands over the wound. The pit of his stomach sank in fear, the black aura of the poison infecting her body at an alarming rate.

"Aang, I can't, I-" Toph coughed violently, her skin felt hot despite the churning water. Her eyes rolled back into her head, her grip falling away from him.

"No-" Shifting his hands, Aang pressed them down on her heart, trying to shield the organ from the approaching poison. He could sense the black aura spreading towards her lungs, seeping through her body. "No, just a second more-"

* * *

It was warm, like someone had enveloped Toph in a giant blanket. The pain in her side was gone, the choking sensation in her lungs had also vanished, but her senses were lacking. Still she felt secure in her place, almost as if something warm and loving was holding her. The feeling reminded her of the badger-moles; comforting and protecting, guiding her.

"You realize the implication of your actions." A shudder ran up Toph's spine as the disembodied voice startled her. She wrapped her arms around herself, curling tightly into a ball. The soft comforting presence seemed a little more distant suddenly.

A second voice suddenly chimed in, "I just need a second, and I'm willing to pay for it." There was an underlying note of panic in this voice, but it seemed the soothe Toph's worries away. "I know it's possible, I've asked you before, and you granted it."

"Your time has already been shortened by your suspension. You will be giving more than you realize."

"I know the consequences." The second voice answered the first, desperation mingling with stubborn pride.

A cold vibe was creeping though Toph's legs. Her toes felt numb, as though someone had submerged them in ice water.

"This is no little matter," the disembodied voice explained, a strong note of disapproval present, "and I will grant this only once. There will be others who need this time, perhaps some more deserving."

"I would rather die then fail at this." Toph startled, the voice now taking on a distinctly Aang quality.

"If you are sure-"

Toph felt a sharp shooting pain in her right side, her heart skipped a beat and constricted painfully.

"I have never been so sure of anything."

Cold air blasted Toph's lungs. A thousand shooting sensations shot through her body as the comforting presence vanished. Everything was fuzzy, her senses lost, energy sapped as if someone had stolen her bending. Sensations bombarded her: night crickets chirping, wind through the leaves, rushing water, warmth on her skin, pain itching her side, head throbbing, lungs screaming, heart pounding, Aang talking. She swirled through the senses trying desperate to grasp at one when everything suddenly stopped.

* * *

The night crickets were still chirping as Toph floated slowly back to conciseness. A heavy weight held her down, but with every breath she took it seemed to lighten. Warmth radiated to her right and she could feel the weight of a blanket pressed around her. Her head was resting on something warm and soft.

Toph took another breath, the pain in her chest lessening with each added inhale. A soft pressure hovered over her heart and forehead, keeping her still. She felt almost nothing of the ground beneath her, but was sure of its presence supporting her. Toph moved a foot, pain shooting along hers muscles and through her body. Her right side was throbbing in protest, but she pressed her foot flat against the ground. Concentrating, she tried to send a soft vibration out. Nothing happened at first. Panic seized her, but she tried again. This time a soft, weak vibration rippled through the area. It traveled only a few meters around her, but it was just enough to see.

She was lying next to their campsite, her head resting in Aang's lap, one of his hands resting protectively over her heart while the other covered her forehead. His energy levels were low, as if in deep meditation. "You need to sleep." Aang's voice startled her. "You've been through a lot and your body needs to recover." It was less of a suggestion and more of a command.

Toph parted her lips in an attempt to speak, but nothing seemed to come out. She swallowed; an action as painful as drinking a bucket of fire water, and tried again. "What-"

Aang moved his hands away. Toph caught the sound of water as his fingertips pressed into the side of her head. She felt her body relax, sleep weighing down her eye lids before sending her spiraling back into the warmth of unconsciousness.

* * *

Morning birds chirping woke Toph from her heavy sleep, her senses creeping back. She still felt weak, like she was recharging. And she still couldn't sense the movement around her, but something told her not to panic. She pressed her foot to the ground, ignoring her protesting limbs, and sent out a tremor. It was a little stronger than last nights, giving her a little more sense.

Aang knelt beside her, warm hand pressing down on her heart as if checking on its condition. "How are you feeling?" Toph groaned in response, her body protesting every little move as she tried to sit up. Aang easily pressed her back down. "You need to rest."

"What happened?" her voice sounded raspy from dis-use.

"You tried to define poison as a dizzy spell," he joked, though the usual hint of cheerfulness was lacking. "Try not to get the two confused in the future."

"No problem, Twinkle." A cough was building up in her chest, her lungs rebelling at the idea of speaking.

His hands moved to her side, soft fingertips pulling at the material of her shirt. "I need to check the puncture wound, this might hurt a little," Aang warned. Toph would have nodded, but found staying still was an easier option. She felt his warm fingertips trace a large circle in her side and winced. "You should see the size of this bruise, the bull barely broke the skin, but your entire right side looks like someone took a mallet to it."

"That's alright, Twinkle," she choked out, wincing as his warm fingers continued to circle the sore area. "I can feel it."

Aang withdrew his hand. "I don't want to heal it yet, you're too weak. You need to sleep some more," he started to pull back. "I'll be back before you wake up."

Everything in her body agreed with Aang's statement, but Toph's mind was clearing and the statement didn't sit right. "Back- where?" she questioned, her hand wrapping around his arm.

"I'm going to go take care of the serpent-bull."

"What?" Toph fought to pull herself up, body now absolutely screaming at the prospect of moving, but her mind unwilling to give into the battle. "You can't-" His fingertips pressed into her head, the soothing sound of water pulling her back into unconsciousness.

* * *

The shirt dropped to the ground, startling Toph awake. The fire was roaring to her left, a sure sign her senses were improving, allowing her to feel the seismic activity around her without the need of induced vibration. Aang was standing a few feet away from her, removing his boots as he faced the fire. The smell of something sweet filled her nose and prompted a growl from her stomach. Sluggishly, she pushed herself into a sitting position, her side screaming with every inch.

"Hey," Aang greeted cheerfully. Moving forward he grabbed a bowl and filled it with the sweet smelling stuff, before walking it over to hand to her. "Eat up. You've been sleeping for the past three days, must be starving."

Toph accepted the bowl, taking a ginger bite of its contents. It felt gooey, like a congee, but warm and sweet. She took another bite, still feeling disoriented and sore, her limbs unwilling to cooperate at first.

Aang moved around the campsite, packing things up for travel. "How are you feeling?" he questioned.

"Weak." She cleared her throat, and took another bite to sooth her aching muscles. "Even my bending feels sapped."

"I would be surprised if it didn't." Aang paused in his movements. "The poison invaded almost all of your senses, take it slow. You do too much and you'll end up taking another three day nap." He resumed his packing, bouncing around the camp. Toph turned her attention back to the bowl and took another bite. Her side was still throbbing, but his comment made her curious and she sent a slight tremor out, testing the range of her abilities and senses.

Toph paused. Something didn't feel right; to be more precise he didn't feel right. A frown creased Toph's face and she shook her head to clear her thoughts. She sent a second vibe out towards the airbender; the bowl dropped, her hands trembling. "What did you do?" Toph demanded. Fighting down a surge of panic, she struggled to push herself to her feet. Muscles refused to cooperate and Toph stumbled. Aang leapt over, catching the earthbender as she teetered precariously close to the fire.

"Don't take it so fast, your still recovering from the-" Aang stopped. In his bid to catch her, one of her hands had planted against his bare chest, over his heart. He moved to pull her hand away, but Toph blocked it.

Imprinted over the bird-like heart Toph felt a fresh scar. It was small; maybe only the size of two fingers. She ran her fingers over it, tracing the edges; a swirl surrounded by a rough shape, sitting on a base. A pattern she had known all her life. The earthbending symbol. "What did you do?"

Aang pulled her fingers away. "Calm down."

"You did something." Her side was screaming in pain with every movement as she clung to him for support, wobbling on her own two legs. "Symbols don't just pop up randomly on your chest, what did you do?" she demanded angrily.

"It's not what you think." Aang defended. "You're still not feeling well. I didn't let you sleep long enough." He dropped her hands, moving his own up to press against her head.

Toph knocked his fingers away from her forehead, "No, you did something stupid, something stupid for me- take it back." She pushed away from him. The force of her movement sent her teetering on unsteady legs, world spinning again as her equilibrium decided to take another vacation. The congee seemed about to come back up.

Aang caught her, his arms wrapping around her waist as she fell against his chest. Everything suddenly just stopped.

* * *

"She'll be fine." The unfamiliar voice shook Toph awake. Beneath her she felt the soft contours of a bed, warm covers pulled up to her chin. The musky smell of cabbages and old men invaded her sense- Omashu. "You healed her well, another few days of rest and I think she'll be capable of travel." Toph kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep as she listened to the man and boy standing by her bed. The healer paused and seemed to take a moment to think. "Forgive me, but I must ask how you did it?"

"I- I blocked the poison from her heart," Aang hesitated, "and then flushed her system using waterbending."

"It makes no sense, so many have tried exactly the same thing and failed. I don't understand how."

"I don't know," Aang tentatively answered. "But I do know I won't be able to do it again."

"An Avatar thing perhaps," disappointment laced the physician's voice. "I'll be back in the morning to check on her. Until then, goodnight." The quick recession of steps and the closing of a door followed. Aang stayed quiet for a long time, his breathing even. For a second it seemed as though he might follow the doctor out, when the bed shifted under added weight and a hand fell flat against her heart.

Toph moved, opening her eyes and lifting her own hand to cover his. "I'm fine, Twinkles Toes. Not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Good." She could hear Aang smile as he pulled himself onto the bed and stretched out beside her. His arm slipped underneath her shoulder, carefully pulling her weight against him. "I think it's my turn to sleep." Silence fell over the pair, but sleep did not seem to come. Without thinking, Toph moved her hand up to rest over his heart. She couldn't feel the scar, the material of his shirt masking it, but she knew it was still there.

Aang grabbing her hand and pulled it away, "I had to, Toph, I had to."

"Had to what?" she questioned.

A warm hand snaked around her back as Aang turned towards her, body entwining with hers. The action sent a shiver of pain down Toph's side, but she ignored it as he wrapped both arms protectively around her, his head resting on top of hers. "I couldn't keep the poison from your heart, so I gave you a piece of mine."

Her hand grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and she felt his heart pick up pace. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying, Twinkle Toes, I can feel it." Toph started to pull away from him, but he held her in place. "Tell me, Aang."

"One of my past lives sacrificed a piece of his heart to save someone. I- I don't know the details, but I know the consequences. By giving you a piece of my heart, even for that short time, I've taken a few years off my own life." Toph took a deep breath in response to his words and pressed her face into Aang's chest, her mind trying to wrap around the comment. "It's not as bad as it sounds," Aang hastily added, "A few years off mine so you can live 80 years more."

"I-" For the first time in her life, words failed Toph.

"I couldn't loss you." Aang whispered, "I knew the consequences of my actions, if that's the cost I have to pay, I'll take it. I world rather die in a world with you then live in one without you. So, just trust me, Toph. Please just trust me."

"I trust you." Her fingers unclenched from his shirt and she let her eyes close. Her heart skipped a beat as a conflict of emotions played through her head. "I've always trusted you, Twinkle Toes. But I honestly don't know-"

Aang's grip tightened to the point of almost painful, "Then don't, just don't." He pressed a soft lingering kiss on the top of her head. "Just trust me."

* * *

"_Did you know?"_

"_I don't see the future, Aang," Roku frowned as he glanced down at the knotted orange and green threads. "Though I feared it would come to this." He turned to the waiting young Avatar and offered the threads forward. "You've made a choice that cannot be reversed and it may come back to haunt you."_

_Aang took the offered threads and stared down at the knotted strands. "I will never regret my sacrifice for Toph."_

* * *

I like this chapter, which could be a bad omen for it (me like = others tend to dislike). I'm not the best at action, but I certainly did my best to paint the picture, hopefully it rings true. Next chapter may be delayed a bit. I'm working on a one shot that I would really like to finish first.

Next Chapter - Katara final speaks about her feelings for Aang, only it's at the wrong time to the wrong person.


End file.
